KARACHI, March 17: The Action Committee for Civic Problems has demanded that bulldozing of structures along the Lyari river-bed be stopped immediately.

A meeting of the committee at Haji Mureed Goth on Saturday also called for carrying out a proper survey in a transparent manner and for preparing a list of all categories of the affected people, which should be displayed at public places before work on the project is started.

Councillors and other representatives of various settlements which would be demolished to make way for the Lyari expressway attended the meeting.

It announced to hold a one-hour demonstration by making a 16.5-kilometre-long human chain from Mauripur to Sohrab Goth along the Lyari River at 8am on March 23.

The meeting criticized the government for not carrying out the environmental impact assessment of the project and for not approving it from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as required. “If the government itself does not follow the law, how it can expect others to follow the rule,” it asked.

As per section 12 of the EPA, it was necessary to carry out an environmental impact assessment of the project, the meeting said, adding that it was illegal to start work on the project without carrying out the assessment. The meeting feared that the project would affect the rainwater flow due to the proposed chanelization of the Lyari River.

The Committee criticized the fixing of a flat rate of compensation at Rs50,000 without considering the fact that whether the plots were used for business or residential purposes or they were leased or unleased. The leased colonies could not be demolished arbitrary, it maintained.

It demanded preparation of a resettlement plan for the affected people in such a manner that their living standard is improved, besides increase in their earnings.