KARACHI: In violation of clear instructions from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) to halt the construction, the provincial irrigation department is continuing work on its project located at the north side of the Malir river, it emerged on Thursday.

According to sources, construction work was in progress round the clock when the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project was held this month. The act was an absolute violation of the environmental laws and carried a fine.

The project proponent, the sources said, temporarily suspended construction at the site following Sepa’s directives but later resumed it at night.

A 5.6-kilometre-long proposed embankment exists parallel to the right bank of the Malir river, starting from the EBM causeway towards the Jam Sadiq bridge and ends near the Parco pipeline crossing.

“We will take up this matter with the irrigation secretary and the project proponent as we had given them directives to immediately stop work on the project,” said Sepa director general Naeem Ahmed Mughal when asked about the development.

The project proponent, he said, had earlier given them assurance that no construction on the site would be carried out until Sepa approved the EIA report of the project.

At a recently held public hearing of the project’s EIA report, stakeholders from diverse fields severely criticised the project and questioned its need.

There was a general consensus at the meeting that the Rs2.5 billion project lacked justification given the fact that there was no flooding risk involved with the present Malir river embankment. And the Malir river, as stated in the EIA report, was seasonal and remained dry most of the year.

It was also pointed out that the project area was ecologically sensitive with a number of bird species visiting the area and due to the presence of mangrove forests.

The new embankment, it was said, would not only destroy the mangroves coming in its way but also the ones on the other side as they wouldn’t receive water.

It was noted with surprise that the forest department had not been consulted for approval to cut down the mangroves and their feedback on the EIA despite the fact that mangroves were protected under the law.

Stakeholders attending the hearing declared the EIA report flawed and said it wrongly stated that carbon monoxide levels were found to be zero in the project area, as there was no place in Karachi with zero levels of the toxic gas.

After hearing these serious objections, the Sepa director (technical) chairing the meeting had directed officials of the irrigation department to stop work at the project site immediately till the agency approved its EIA report.

An expert review of the EIA report is pending.

Published in Dawn June 26th, 2015

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