June 30, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 14, 1428

LAHORE, June 29: Justice Fazl-i-Miran Chohan of the Lahore High Court on Friday directed the relevant department to submit within 15 days its comments on a petition filed by some civil society organizations and activists against the environment impact assessment (EIA) review process for the Canal Road remodelling.

The petitioners prayed that “the government agency of the Provincial Government (allegedly Environment Protection Department) does not have the jurisdiction under the law to approve the EIA filed by another government organization (Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency) besides it smacks of conflict of interest, lack of transparency, poor governance and makes EPD a judge in its own cause.”

They submitted that the EIA review process under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Review of IEE and EIA) Regulations, 2000, cannot be approved by the EPD single-handedly unless the EIA was reviewed by a committee of experts, advisory committee, sectoral advisory committee and environmental assessment advisory committee which had not been constituted and the public had not been informed of their constitution. They further prayed that these committees might be appointed by the court.

They also submitted that the public hearing conducted by the EPD was a sham exercise as objections raised (in writing) in it by the petitioners and other stakeholders had not been responded to by the proponent (Tepa) or the EPD and the case was being processed further in blatant violation of the act, regulations and the guidelines on the subject.

The petitioners pleaded that the preparation of EIA by Nespak was in violation of the act, regulations and the guidelines on the subject and was liable to be set aside as being illegal and prayed that during the pendency of the petition the EPD be barred from passing any final order about the EIA and other respondent government departments and agencies be stopped from carrying out any physical operation under the project unless and until the EIA had been approved after considering the points and objections raised in this petition.

The petitioners included the WWF-Pakistan, the Pakistan Environmental Law Association, Punjab (PELA), Shehri-CBE, Shajardost, Lahore Bachao Tehrik, Shirkat Gah, Pani Pakistan, Lahore Chitrkar, LACAS (Pvt) Ltd, Lahore Conservation Society, Institute of Architects of Pakistan (IAP), Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre, Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee, Mr Bilal Hassan Minto, and Mirza Mahmood Ahmad advocate.

The respondents are the Punjab government through Communications and Works Department, Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department, City District Government of Lahore, LDA, Tepa, Provincial Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Protection Department, Federal Environmental Protection Agency, and Nespak.

Under the Canal Bank remodelling plan, another lane is to be added to the existing two on both sides of the canal, widening the road by another 20 to 24ft from Dharampura Underpass to Thokar Niaz Beg.

The petitioners claim that the project will result in cutting down of 21,000 trees and shrubs on both sides of the canal, badly damaging the environment.