LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday turned down a request of a Punjab government lawyer to vacate the stay against work on the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project.

Dismissing the request, Justice Shahid Karim observed that the government did not seem to be serious in complying with the environmental laws.

The judge was hearing a petition challenging the acquisition of agricultural land for the mega development and housing project.

On behalf of the petitioner, Advocate Sheraz Zaka argued that the land acquisition laws had been blatantly violated in the project as farmers were being deprived of their lands.

A law officer filed a report on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and said the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) had been submitted by the Ravi Urban Development Authority (Ruda) and was under review process as per the regulations.

He said the EPA had been taking every possible caution in the review process of the EIA for safeguarding the natural environment, strictly on merit.

The judge, however, dismissed the government’s request for withdrawal of the stay order and adjourned further hearing till April 1.

The judge also expressed his dismay over the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) for not filing a reply regarding dumping of garbage.

He observed that the LWMC was not serious and its negligence was further exacerbating the health crisis caused by the heaps of garbage lying in the open spaces in the provincial capital.

In a separate petition, Justice Karim stayed felling of trees for conversion of the Lahore Flying Club, Walton Airport, into a business hub till submission of an EIA report on it.

Judicial Activism Panel’s chairman Advocate Azhar Siddique had filed the petition questioning the environmental impact of the commercial project announced by the government.

The judge also allowed an opportunity to the government’s lawyer to file a reply to the petition by April 1.

Another petition filed by the flying club itself was also pending with the court.

The Lahore Flying Club is the oldest in Pakistan, situated at Walton, pre-dating the Partition and has been instrumental in promoting air-mindedness in the public.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2021