December 30, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 6, 1424

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LAHORE, Dec 29: The Environment Protection Tribunal (Lahore) has served notices on the director-general Environment Protection Department, the director Parks and Horticulture Authority and the district officer (environment) to appear before it by Jan 8 with regard to the submission of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the FCC Road and the Mall Road underpasses.

Advocate Samaira Awan, who is also a member of the LHCBA Environment Protection Committee, filed a complaint with the tribunal that the communication and works department had initiated both the projects without undertaking its EIA.

The complainant contended that the EIA of any project was mandatory under section 12 of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997.

The EIA is an environmental study and formulation of its management of a project aimed at evaluating environment degradation and related social implications of carrying out a project of any size before irrevocable decision is made.

Besides, it provides alternatives to carry out a project in case it has adverse effects on the environment.

According to the complainant, both the projects have been undertaken without seeking an approval from the EPD and also no Initial Environment Examination (IEE) been taken up by the C&W department.

She said the projects resulted in cutting of more than 1,100 trees along the canal bank, causing an increase in the city temperature, loss of natural habitat for the bio-diversity, increase of green house gasses and suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the air.

The excavation and dumping of the earth was being carried out without adopting safety and preventive measures, thus, causing air pollution and inconvenience for the adjoining localities of the underpasses, she said, also alleging that both the projects were initiated in a hurry.

She said the departments concerned had deliberately violated the mandatory provisions of the prevailing environmental laws of the land and rules and regulations thereby required immediate judicial intervention.

The complainant said she had also served a 30-day notice to the EPD in this regard, but did not get any response.

The tribunal noted that the complainant had made a prima facie case. “The main contention of the complainant’s counsel is that the project has been started in a hurry without carrying out EIA\IEE and strategic plan.”

The EPD, being an executing agency of the EIA rules in the province, is unable to even serve legal notices to violators. Lack of resources are said to be the main reason for the poor implementation of the environment laws.

The EIA\IEE is compulsory before the launch of various projects like thermal power generation over 200MW, hydroelectric power generation over 50MV, petroleum refineries, major power transmission lines including grid stations and nuclear power plants. It is also required for manufacturing units of chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers, industrial estates, mining and mineral processing, major ports and harbour development, airports, federal and provincial highways, bridges, dams and landfill sites.

“But none of such projects’ EIA had ever been undertaken in the past and no strategy has been made so far by the department,” claim environmental advocates.