LAHORE - Justice Shujaat Ali Khan of the Lahore High Court on Thursday refused to hear the petition against planned demolition of Lady Willingdon Hospital to construct flyover at Azadi Chowk.
As the hearing started, the judge citing personal reasons refused to go ahead with the proceedings and referred the matter to Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court for fixation it before some other bench. Previously, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry had stayed the demolition of the building of the hospital and issued notice to the concerned authorities.
Young Doctors Association and PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid had filed the petitions. Through their counsels, they submitted that the government was wasting huge money from public exchequer to build a flyover to strengthen Matro Bus project. They said to complete this project, the government has planned to demolish a huge portion of the hospital. They said already according to the increase in population, health facilities are not increasing and the government was curtailing the existing health facilities.
They said this step is against Article 14, 10-A, 9, 24, 23, 19-A, 16, 15 and 25-A of the Constitution. They said this hospital was constructed on an area of 120 kanal 83 years back. They said a USAID team also showed its concern to upgrade the hospital but the Punjab government showed no concern in this regard.
Moreover, counsel for YDA said to construct the flyover, no NOC is taken from the EPD. He said to demolish the building of the hospital is against provision of Walled City Act 2012, Antiqueties Act 1975, and Punjab Special Premises Preservations 1985.
He said in this hospital, annually 14000 births take place and about 500 patients get treatment daily. He said the hospital has a facility of 300 beds and people get treatment free of cost. He said he already had given a notice to the concerned authorities which they did not bother and are preparing to demolish it.
He said due to construction work at Azadi Chowk, ways to hospital are closed and patients have to enter it by walking for several hundred of yards.