ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) on Saturday announced that it would hold a public hearing on grant of environmental approval to 10th Avenue which will be constructed from IJP Road to Khayaban-i-Iqbal.

All the stakeholders have been asked to give their comments at the public hearings to be held at Jinnah Convention Centre on Feb 24.

As many as 925 mature trees will be transplanted before the commencement of the project.

The avenue would be constructed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to facilitate residents of different sectors and to avoid traffic congestion along I-9, I-10, H-10, G-10, G-9 and F-10, linking IJ Principle Road with Khayaban-i-Iqbal.

The 8.2-km-long road would directly benefit sectors of E-11, D-12, E-12, F-11, G-11, H-11 and I-11

Drafting and reviewing EIA reports for all development projects are mandatory under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA) 1997.

The purpose of conducting EIAs is to evaluate the environmental impacts arising due to proposed project.

In this case, however, the EIA stated that the environmental impact from the construction of the two plus two lane avenue on the physical environment would be negligible. However, the report said that there would be significant impacts on the ecological environment.

Pak-EPA said the impact on flora would be reduced by implementing an appropriate tree plantation plan. This plantation along either side of the road would enhance the aesthetics as well as the environmental conditions of the project area.

However, a source in the Pak-EPA said that developers often failed to properly implement the environment management plans and that often caused increased amount of dust in the air.

“This is obvious in the case of the two ongoing road projects at the Rawal Chowk and especially at the 7th Avenue interchange being constructed on the Srinagar Highway,” the official said.

However, Pak-EPA emphasized on implementation of environment management plan (EMP) carefully coordinated with the design and construction phase of the project.

This will ensure relevant mitigation measures are implemented at the appropriate stages and adequate resources were allocated to achieve the desired results – keeping dust and particles pollution to minimum.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2022