Chandigarh, Nov. 30 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Saturday asked various stakeholders to come up with suggestions to fast-forward expansion plan of high court complex. The high court bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry was hearing a 2023 public interest litigation (PIL) by HC employees association secretary Vinod Dhatterwal, seeking the implementation of a holistic development plan, which envisages the setting up of multi-storey buildings to cater to the requirement of additional space. As reported on November 22 in these columns, a high court-appointed committee has recommended the construction of four new blocks with 30-35 more court rooms on an 11.42 lakh square-feet area behind the heritage building designed by Le Corbusier, and an additional parking capacity on 11.17 lakh square feet at the Capitol Complex. During the hearing on Saturday, the Bar Association suggested that design work of the new complex be handed over to a particular architect to expedite the process as there was a very small window to get UNESCO clearance for the project. It needs to be submitted either in December or January, if expansion work is to start next year. The project needs clearance from UNESCO as the high court, opened in 1955, is part of the Capitol Complex, which was declared a world heritage site in 2016. Bar body's submissions came in the wake of the high court asking the UT to forthwith appoint an architect and project consultant with requisite experience in court infrastructure and design, particularly in the context of listed heritage sites. The UT was further directed to publish an "expression of interest" for the expeditious appointment of such consultant, preferably within one week. On the other hand, UT's counsel listed out 8-10 steps to be undertaken before the project is submitted for approval before UNESCO. Senior standing counsel Amit Jhanji submitted that the proposal was required to be prepared by the high court administration and UT's role will come into play only at the time of the heritage conservation committee considering the project. He underlined that when an earlier holistic development plan, later shelved, was finalised in 2013-14, the proposal was mooted by the high court administration. During the hearing, additional solicitor general Satya Pal Jain also cautioned that steps be taken to expedite the commissioning of the project but various rules in this regard be examined to avoid problems at a later stage. In view of this, the court deferred the hearing for December 5 and asked all stakeholders to come up with suggestions....