KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has sought details of the amount allocated and released in respect of endowment fund for preservation of heritage sites in the province during the last 10 years.

The SHC also ordered secretary of the provincial culture department to appear in court on the next date and apprise it regarding proposed amount to be allocated in the upcoming budget as well as the schemes devised to preserve historical sites.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, also issued a show-cause notice to a member of board of revenue for not submitting documents about the land of a historic health facility in Shikarpur.

A petition was filed in 2021 and initially, the SHC had issued a restraining order not to create any third-party interest in a housing scheme being reportedly planned on the premises of the historical hospital.

At the outset of the hearing, a provincial law officer submitted reports of health and culture departments in the light of last court order.

The reports recommended that a technical committee, to be headed by director general antiquities and comprising several members from various departments, be constituted on a long term basis to undertake an extensive survey, catalogue, publicise, restore, preserve protect properties in Shikarpur.

They also suggested that the health department be directed to reconstruct/restore the hospital in question to the nearest of its original shape and design as well as to run health facility while connected land could best be used for constructing a multi-disciplinary medical complex providing various medical and academic services.

They further made recommendations about six other historic buildings including Merewether Pavilion, Dudha Ashram, Old Municipal Office, Old Mukhtiarkar Office, Aijaz Tea Hotel (historical municipal property) and Dhak Bazaar in Shikarpur.

After taking the reports on record, the bench directed the deputy commissioner concerned to ensure such properties were not occupied by any encroacher and must be preserved until the culture department restored the same.

“Secretary culture shall be in attendance and submit report with regard to funds allocated and released in favour of heritage endowment funds in last ten years as well as proposed amount to be allocated in upcoming budget as well as submit schemes whereby these historical sites shall be preserved”, the bench in its order added.

It also noted that at the last hearing, a member of board of revenue was directed to examine entries and submit report about the record of land in question, but he failed to make compliance. The court put him on show-cause notice as to why contempt proceedings must not be initiated against him.

While adjourning the hearing till May 11, the bench also issued notices to the deputy attorney general and secretary Auqaf with regard to evacuee trust properties falling within the criteria of heritage properties and notified by the federal and provincial governments as antiquities as well as to file details of such properties at next hearing.

Petitioner Shahab Usto had submitted that the Sir Henry Holland Mission Eye Hospital was built by missionaries in 1910 on land measuring 25,068 square yards and it had been providing high-quality free medical services not only to the locals but also the people from other parts of the province. However, the operation of the British-era health facility had been suspended a few years ago, he added.

He said that the land belonging to the hospital had illegally been transferred to a man allegedly on a fake general power of attorney to launch a housing scheme and the layout plan was also illegally approved by the Sindh Building Control Authority.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2024