LAHORE: The Lahore Bachao Tehrik and the Lahore Conservation Society have jointly ‘advised’ the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw public hearing notice pertaining to proposed further widening of the Canal Bank Road, Jail Road and Chobacha underpasses besides remodeling of all present underpasses.

“In case, you continue to persist with your mala fide designs, we reserve our right to prosecute you to the full extent permitted by law,” said a legal notice by the Tehrik and the Society served on the directors-general of both the LDA and the EPA on Monday.

The notice said the Supreme Court had in its suo motu case No 25 of 2009 (reported as 2011 SCMR 1743) ‘accepted the report of the Mediation Committee in entirety.’ No widening of the Canal Bank was permitted except in strict conformity with the recommendations made in the report of the Mediation Committee.

The notice reads: “It is our belief that the report of the Mediation Committee and the recommendations had already been substantially implemented by the Punjab government. It is feared that the Punjab government, under the cloak of the subject noted purported public hearing is trying to subvert and circumvent the order of the Supreme Court by blatantly going beyond the scope of the report and recommendations made by the Mediation Committee which were accepted by the Punjab government `in entirety’ before the apex court. Such an inference is clearly obvious from the agenda specified in the public hearing notice itself.

Opposes plan to widen Canal, Jail roads

“Without prejudice to the above, even otherwise the exercise contemplated by your good offices falls foul of the specific provisions of ‘The Lahore Canal Heritage Park Act, 2013’. The conditions prescribed in Section 3(8) of the Act envisage that a departure can only be made for a temporary activity and/or in a very limited particularised area of the Heritage Park. Such a large-scale destruction of the Heritage Park as obvious from the agenda specified in the public hearing notice is illegal, unlawful, mala fide and against the mandate of the Act as well as the order of the Supreme Court.

“Moreover, the emphasis by the Act inter alia, on the importance of every single `tree’ [Section 2(d), Section 3(2), 3(7) and Section 6(d)] unequivocally lays down that no massive permanent structure or continued activity can be undertaken which jeopardises even a single tree in the Heritage Park. Hence, the exercises specified in the public hearing notice are against the ‘express letter as well as spirit’ of the Act itself and therefore illegal,” said the legal notice.

Terming the public hearing notice contemplating acts in violation of the law, the Tehrik and the Society advised both the government departments to immediately withdraw and all such exercises as specified in the public hearing notice.

Published in Dawn, July 8th , 2014