ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) continues to receive residents’ flak to this day for questionably reversing its decision of setting up a permanent landfill site after finalising it in Kuri area back in 2011.

Over 10 years on, Islamabad has been making makeshift arrangements of dumping its waste at temporary locations.

This time around, the civic agency is planning to establish another temporary site on its nursery land on Park Road.

The site in Kuri area was selected by international consultants after getting input from environmentalists but it came as a surprise to many when the CDA board in 2011-12 citing objections of the environment body, decided not to construct the landfill site in that area.

Official says dumping site, flower germination cannot go side by side; city managers had rejected permanent site in Kuri area 10 years ago

Sources reveal that the CDA management of that time took the said decision allegedly to appease some landlords who wanted to launch housing societies in the area.

Now, the area is dotted with numbers of housing societies. CDA’s Park Enclave also falls in the said area, but the city is still deprived of any planned land fill site. In 2017, the auditor general of Pakistan pointed out CDA’s negligence in not constructing the landfill site in Kuri.

Currently, the CDA is dumping garbage and waste in under developed sector I-12.

A couple of years ago, the CDA proposed a site in Sangjani area, but the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) rejected the site after receiving complaints of citizens. Last year, the CDA decided to construct new site in H-16 but that site was also rejected due to environmental concerns.

At present, the city managers have been facing pressure to shift the site from I-12, as development of this sector has already been delayed for many years. Recently, the CDA awarded contract of starting development of this sector.

Sources said that now CDA’s Sanitation Directorate has proposed a landfill site on Park Road in its nursery where germination of flower plants is carried out.

“How does a dumping site and germination of flowers go side by side? This site is located in the heart of city, so I guess, so it is not feasible,” said an officer of the environment wing. He said that secondly, this area, being in a 2-kilometre radius of Rawal Dam (downstream) can obviously not be feasible, adding, “Garbage and flowers cannot go together because it is unnatural.”

When contacted, a board member of the CDA confirmed toDawnthat a portion of CDA’s nursery site came under discussion for setting up landfill site.

“Where should we go? Wherever we proposed a site, due to some reason or the other, it was dropped. Look, earlier, we proposed a site in Sangjani, but that was rejected by the environment body, then, we decided for 1-17 then H-16, but people filed court cases. So, we are mulling to setup a temporary, but scientific site, in Nursery area, where acres of our land is lying unattended,” the member said, adding the proposed site could be developed properly with international standards and will not cause harm to the environment.

“For permanent solution, the CDA and Rawalpindi Development Authority are jointly working to setup a land fill site in Mandra area,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2022