| December 03, 2007 | Monday | Ziqa’ad 22, 1428 |
Life for a pittance
LIKE some other development projects in Islamabad which were opposed and halted or delayed because of environmental concerns, the cable car project on Margalla Hills too seems to have finally got through, as it was reported in Dawn. This has happened despite lingering concerns by environmentalists about the project’s impact on the ecosystem of the hills and despite apprehensions that the project was being given the go-ahead under a caretaker administration rather than an elected government.
The proposed cableway is reported to be 2.5km long, stretching from the base station at the Japanese Children’s Park next to the Islamabad Zoo up to the summit station at Makhiala Peak near Pir Sohawa. The 30-minute cableway ride is likely to transform the Margalla Hills into a unique and captivating recreational destination, both for local as well as foreign visitors.
However, the idea of building the cableway has been a controversial one since serious efforts were first made by the Capital Development Authority to get the project off the ground in 2002.
In a letter-to-the-editor in Dawn in June 2004, the President of the Margalla Hills Society pointed out that an attempt was being made to bulldoze the project through without proper environmental impact assessment because CDA had not followed the prescribed procedure laid down in the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, in obtaining approval for the project from the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency.
The Agency is reported to be still opposed to the project, viewing it as an environmental hazard both for the fauna and flora of the Margalla Hills.
Must all development projects, especially the recreational kind, always be viewed from a black or white perspective, i.e., either for or against? Because of this outlook, the major issue of any development project often boils down to: should we or should we not have it, whether it be the cableway, the Rawal Lake promenade, the National Monument on top of Shakarparian Hill or the development of better recreational facilities in Fatima Jinnah Park?
Instead of having no development projects at all in order to preserve the environment and ecosystem, or giving the government or private sector free hand to implement development projects without regard for the environment, why can’t we have the best of both worlds through sustainable development? The latter choice which is more sensitive to the environment often requires a greater financial investment but this is how many administrations elsewhere are pursuing development in their localities while addressing environmental concerns at the same time.
Thus, despite general concern abroad about the threat posed by resorts and tourists to the delicate balance of ecology on many mountain ranges, nevertheless hill or mountain cable car systems — both aerial and surface — are common tourist and recreational attractions in many countries like the US, Venezuela, South Africa, Japan and China.
Hong Kong and Malaysia are renowned for their steep, surface cable or funicular tramcar on Victoria Peak and Penang Hill respectively, while Singapore is well known for its aerial cable car system linking a hill (Mount Faber) with an island resort (Sentosa) across a harbour.
While the Pepa may have provided for preventing, lessening and controlling the negative impacts of development projects on the environment, it certainly does not provide for the outright halt of development activity as such, even the recreational kind. On the other hand, however, an authority like CDA has a responsibility that goes beyond providing just recreation when pursuing projects in environmentally sensitive places such as hills, parks and lake areas.
The spirit of the Environment Act, 1997 calls for positive cooperation between authorities like CDA and Pak-EPA in pursuing development projects by analysing the potential negative environmental impacts and adopting measures to reduce if not eliminate such effects on the environment.
Many mountain developers elsewhere usually follow certain basic principles to try and minimise the ecological impact. They engage local communities, environmental groups, government agencies and other stakeholders in upfront and continuing dialogue on development plans and their implementation. They plan, site and design on-mountain and base area developments in a manner that respects the natural setting and avoid, to the extent possible, outstanding natural resources.
They try and integrate natural functions and blend the development facilities into the surrounding environment. They make water efficiency, energy efficiency and renewable energy use and materials efficiency priorities in the design of new facilities. Finally, they also use high-density development or clustering to reduce sprawl and the need for cars, and enhance the pedestrian environment.
While striving to avoid and mitigate human impacts on the Margalla Hills, it is understandable that some impacts of a project like the cable car are unavoidable, e.g., the loss of trees and habitat. But if considered with respect to the last principle for developers in the previous paragraph, the cable car project may actually be seen as a tradeoff for a car- free zone (and thus less pollution) in the Margalla Hills.
For this reason, it is important for all concerned with the Margalla Hills to continue to provide and improve environmental awareness and education so that we are all practising and living in awareness of the sensitive environment that surrounds us.
The cable car and other development activities on Margalla Hills should also be implemented in conjunction with environmental upgrading programmes to protect its flora and fauna by improving the nesting habitat for migratory birds, special re-vegetation practices to replace rare lost species or to improve wildlife habitat for foraging species, and fire hazards minimising.
It is only together through the wise use of natural resources as well as the preservation and enhancement of the Margalla Hills that CDA can provide more than just recreation but ensure a sound environmental experience for all who come in contact with the hills.
EVERY now and then the media bemoans security inadequacies surrounding the recent spate of bank robberies in Karachi. No doubt, the private sector in Pakistan – especially banks – is found lacking on many fronts, especially human resources, but we must consider all facets of the situation.
Consider a possible scenario for what a friend says could have really happened in the country over the past few decades: Some ‘wise’ men must have seen some movies or heard from a friend of a friend about drug-infested and lawless Latin-American banana republics. They saw that robberies and kidnappings for ransom created a ‘demand’ for ‘private security’ over there. Thus, they first created an ample ‘need’ for ‘private security’ over here through bank robberies, thefts and lawlessness and effectively rendered the police department impotent.
Afterwards, they registered such ‘security companies’, hiring retired sepoys, naib-subaidars and subaidars, allowing them to earn some income. But they conveniently overlooked the fact that the ‘guards’ in those companies operating in the lawless countries were paid handsomely to avoid them being bribed by criminals or being enticed by the lure of get-rich-quick opportunities.
One must ask the banks and the private security firms (along with the provincial home department and the federal interior ministry for that matter) how and why an individual should be expected to lay down his life for a pittance that they call a salary!
It is a miracle why every household which employs these guards is not looted and how the thousands of bank branches all over the country survive despite the prevalence of huge injustices.
—Ghouse Mohiuddin
A FEW weeks ago, the deputy inspector-general of traffic police gave orders for bus conductors to wear badges and issue fare tickets to commuters. This reminded me of an essay that my dad had written when he was a student. The essay was about a bus conductor, and the description included uniform and tickets, and I remember how alien that sounded to me, given that my version of conductors has always been of loud-mouthed, paan-chewing, shalwar-kameez clad men, ranging from 11-years-olds to white-haired, weather-beaten faces.
And so, it was a pleasant surprise to come across such news. Obviously, the cynic in me was sceptical about the implementation of the rule. Though there’s no harm in keeping one’s fingers crossed. But it is difficult to suppress this sneaking suspicion that, as most things happen in this country, the renewed commitment to implement the rule may also get lost somewhere in the deep pockets of our innumerable traffic constables.Nor are these reservations without ground. After all, not more than two years ago, the government had tried to implement a similar rule of issuing tickets. The practice eventually dissolved into nothingness. Similarly, the introduction of CNG buses was hailed by all. However, since the lease amount was not paid back to the banks, the project had to be aborted.
Many transporters are of the view that the introduction of minibuses in the mid-70s triggered the violation of traffic rules. This is one of the problems that prevail even today, and there is no denying that it is these private buses and coaches that are responsible for a lot of traffic problems, including fatal and non-fatal accidents, over-speeding and traffic congestion.
However, given the huge number of these vehicles, i.e. around 8,000, it will be a Herculean task for the government to replace them all. Perhaps that is why this, along with mandatory uniforms for conductors, has been planned, but at a later stage. And it will be implemented only after the success of the first phase.
While it is good news that the Karachi Transport Ittehad, too, is willing to cooperate with the government on the issue, strict and honest monitoring is just as important.
Unfortunately, as of now, the next stage is hard to imagine, particularly when the Nov 30 deadline given by the DIG traffic for transporters to ensure that bus conductors comply with the earlier directives has already been extended with the least results obtained.
What is more important right now is to properly focus on the implementation of rules, which requires not just consistency on the part of the government and transporters but civil society’s cooperation as well. One step at a time and that taken well will be the key to the success of this project. —Sa’adia Reza
Compiled by Syed Hassan Ali
Email: karachian@dawn.com