ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: A meeting between the officials of Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) scheduled to be held on Thursday has been cancelled, the CDA sources informed Dawn.

The meeting was cancelled because the in-charge of District Army Monitoring Team (DAMT), Brig Liaquat, who had convened the meeting, had some other engagements.

Iesco’s chief executive Brig Waseem Zafar when asked if the meeting could be adjourned till Friday, he regretted that he would not be able to attend it on Friday due to some other assignments. No date for the meeting has been fixed so far.

The meeting was to discuss the controversial grid station, being constructed by the Iesco on the green belt between sector F-6 and F-7.

The residents of sector F-6 and F-7, who are petitioners in a case filed against the construction of the grid station in the Supreme Court (SC), termed the postponement of the meeting “delaying tactics” to complete the construction work.

“The Iesco will complete the grid station and then submit an excuse in the apex court that if the station is demolished it would be a great loss to the national exchequer,” the petitioners feared.

Iesco’s chief executive told Dawn that under the directives of the SC, Nespak had carried out a study allowing Iesco to install the grid station.

Meanwhile, former vice-president National Engineering Services of Pakistan and engineer of Environment Protection Tribunal (Punjab-NWFP), Ahmed Nawaz Cheema, revealed that Nespak had never conducted any study on high-powered grid station being installed by Iesco.

When contacted Mr Cheema said on Wednesday he had served in Nespak for a long time and retired in 1995 and till his retirement no such study had been conducted by the organization.

Mr Cheema, with an experience of 47 years in environment engineering said there was no other environmentalist in the organization except him and he had not been consulted in any study conducted in this regard.

He said any grid station in residential area with power more than 60KV was hazardous for human life and could cause cancer.

On the other hand Iesco is setting up a grid station of 135KV in the centre of residential area between F-6 and F-7.

He said in developed countries high tension wires were laid underground while in Iesco’s grid station overhead high tension wires would be installed.

Criticising the performance of Environment Protection Agency (EPA), he said the agency was doing nothing in protecting the environment.

He said Environment Protection Tribunals have empowered the EPA to investigate and take legal action against those polluting the environment. However, the EPA was only discouraging the industrial sector buy imposing heavy fines and black listing the factories instead of suggesting measures to overcome the pollution of these industries.

A Nespak report on construction of a high powered grid station between F-6 and F-7, revealed that no research data was available in Pakistan regarding health effects from exposure to 50/60 Hz electric and magnetic fields.

Nespak was assigned by the Supreme Court to submit its report after evaluating the health hazards of the under-construction grid station.

The report was submitted before the apex court a few years ago but as yet, the SC has not given its verdict, the residents of the area said.

According to the report evidence, knowledge and epidemiology studies so far available on the possible health effects of electric and magnetic field are incomplete and inconclusive.

Other international organizations are also working on this issue. However, until the studies are concluded and a code of practice formulated, world organizations recommend ‘prudent avoidance’ strategy.

The interim guideline of International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) on the limits of exposure to 50/60 Hz electric and magnetic field also suggested necessary ‘prudent avoidance’ strategy for general public.

However, the chief executive of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco), Brig Waseem Zafar told Dawn that Nespak had given go-ahead signal to the company for the construction of grid station.

The petitioners, on the other hand, said that since the decision of the apex court was still pending Iesco could not resume the construction work.

They said the federal ombudsman and the SC had called for maintaining status quo till final decision from the apex court. Iesco was constructing the grid station in violation of SC order.

The petitioners had informed the apex court that the technical committee had not summoned Dr Arshad Baig and Dr Muhammad Hanif, of the PCSIR, whose evidences on the adverse effects of grid station were recorded in the apex court judgment of February 12, 1994.

They said the technical committee had provided the report to the SC but the petitioners were never given an opportunity to produce evidences in support of their contentions.

They said the technical committee never visited the site of the under-construction grid station to check its proximity to the residents and destruction of trees.

The petitioners said the SC in its judgment highlighted the importance of public participation in decision-making process.