HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to federal government’s departments and entities, including Council of Common Interests, Indus River System Authority, federal secretary of Climate Change and others.

The division bench comprising Justices Abdul Mubeen Lakho and Arbab Ali Hakro also put on notice Additional Advocate General (AAG) and Deputy Attorney General (DAG) over a petition filed by Mumtaz Ahmed Lashari advocate, challenging construction of canals under Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI).

The court took up for preliminary hearing the petition that was filed early this year, and fixed its next hearing for third week of October.

The petitioner, who was appearing in person in this pro bono public case, said that GPI was launched by federal government in collusion with Sindh and Punjab governments without obtaining mandatory sanction form Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA) that proved malice on the respondents’ part.

He said that these initiatives would endanger livelihood, agriculture, environment and wildlife of Sindh. The project would render irrigated land barren as the construction of canals was planned without Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and approval, he said.

He said the project was not in compliance of PEPA 1997 and prayed the court to declare construction of canals under GPI as illegal. The court should order an independent EIA of the project and call reports from the respondents, he said, requesting stay on the construction of illegal canals.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2025