ONE picture said it all: a once majestic full-grown tree, dwarfing even in its death throes the puny humans tasked with the slaughter, being hacked to pieces on University Road in Karachi. Yellow flowers littered the road, a futile peace offering from the almost vanquished.

At least fifteen years of triumphant labour in the face of incredible odds obliterated in one fell swoop. The fighting spirit that air pollution, dust and barren monsoons could not subdue in over a decade, man in his ignorance killed in a couple of hours.

Even the hollow symbolism of Earth Day was lost on the executioner, the City District Government Karachi, which is perhaps just as well. Call me contrary but sometimes naked aggression is preferable on some primeval level to hypocrisy, our national staple, and the nauseating drivel of spin doctors, PR peddlers and similar low life.

No such doublespeak for the city government which, say what you will, can never be accused of bashfulness. The CDGK makes no bones about the fact that it is going to disfigure Karachi beyond recognition, and for this ready admission it must be applauded. Come what may, the city government wants to transform Karachi into another Dubai, a prospect as appalling as it is unworkable. Concrete, asphalt and monster contracts awarded without bids figure prominently in this order of business, which by necessity must be pursued at breakneck speed. Here today…

Trees as we speak are under attack all over Karachi. On Sharea Faisal, mature trees are reportedly being uprooted to make way for an elevated expressway that promises to change life as we know it. Never mind the trifling detail that public objections to the expressway are yet to be reviewed, for whatever that charade is worth, or that a no-objection certificate is still awaited from the Sindh EPA.

This readiness by the CDGK to proceed according to plan, and niceties be damned, lends weight to allegations that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) carried out earlier was all eyewash. With that little formality out of the way, everything’s all nice and legal now. Or is it?

What was the point in conducting a public hearing on April 3 when the concerns raised, all worthy of consideration, were to be irrelevant in the final analysis? The EIA carried out by the project’s consultants carries as much value as a rubberstamp made to order at Regal Chowk, and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

With environment-related suo motu action by the Supreme Court possibly a thing of the past, what will be must be. Money doesn’t just talk it mesmerises, and that is perhaps the only reason why the expressway was even considered in the first place. It’s not as if it will ease traffic congestion; far from it according to experts. Just get you faster to the next traffic jam, that’s all.

At least the city government bothered to carry out an EIA, shambolic as it was. ‘Development’ work has already commenced on Bundal and Buddo islands, until recently a pristine marine ecosystem located in a coastal stretch designated by conservationists as a high-priority area and a rich source of livelihood for fishing communities. All that is due to be decimated to make way for yet another playpen for the obnoxiously wealthy.

Land has been levelled, mangroves have allegedly been cut — all without an impact assessment, as mandated under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 and Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Review of IEE and EIA) Regulations 2000.

The Environmental Tribunal for Sindh is now finally up and running but is apparently sitting idle for want of cases to hear. Odd that, because at least two perfect candidates come to mind.

Enough said, for now.
imalik@dawn.com