The lawyer representing the companies said the work on the project had been expedited due to court''s interest. He, however, said the authority had not paid money to the companies.
Zafar Kalanauri Advocate informed the court that the project was almost complete, adding it had all been done due to the court''s interest. The Chief Justice said if the work did not complete in time then fine would be imposed on the companies.
A five-member bench of Supreme Court comprising Justices Ejaz Afzal Khan, Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Maqbool Baqar, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel in December 2017 had announced the judgement after eight months hearing on multibillion dollar train project.
The apex court had set aside the Lahore High Court verdict to halt construction of the OLMT and ordered the Punjab government to resume work on the project subject to certain conditions.
The bench had taken up identical petitions filed by the Punjab government, National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak), Punjab Mass Transit Authority, Lahore Development Authority and Civil Society Network against the August 19, 2016 LHC judgement suspending construction work on OLMT within 200 feet of 11 heritage sites in the provincial capital.
The apex court in its judgement ordered the Punjab government to resume construction on the train project and complete it by the planned date. The court also directed the provincial government to form two technical committees within 30 days to oversee technical aspects of the project. The OLMT is expected to facilitate up to 250,000 commuters everyday.