THE planned construction of a yet another expressway along Malir and the ongoing construction of flyovers in Karachi is disturbing.

Infrastructure projects in the name of development are often announced for political or other gains with no consideration for the national laws that are supposed to govern such construction.

Pakistan is replete with laws — laws relating to murder, theft, torture and violence, damage to property, violation of human rights, harm to animals, the suppression of freedom, damage to the environment, bribery and corruption, nepotism … the list is long and comprehensive. That no one, especially those who make the laws, implements them, is another matter altogether.

One such law is the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act passed in 1997. Of its several clauses, one is related to the need for an assessment of the impact of infrastructure development.

Procedures for an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) were laid down. According to them, no approval could be given for a project by the authorities unless a formal EIA had been carried out by a neutral party, and the findings had been shared and debated through public consultations.

Any concerns were to be addressed through design changes, and actions to mitigate negative impacts were to be built within the implementation plan and budget which would be borne by the proponent of the project. Smaller projects were required to be screened through a less expensive Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) that would determine whether or not a full-scale EIA was necessary.

In actuality, though, most development projects in the country have been implemented without an EIA, under the ‘instructions’ of whichever government or politician is at the helm of affairs.

Taking the example of Karachi, highways, expressways, roads, flyovers and overhead bridges have been built in plentiful, especially over the last four to eight years. The city has become a maze of concrete, and with the combined effects of built-up structures, the lack of removal of rubble and the lack of rain, possesses higher levels of air pollution, dust and high temperatures.

The lack of quality control in construction material makes matters worse, with cement structures sometimes caving in before they are even completed, causing havoc for vehicles and pedestrians alike.

The Lyari Expressway is one such example. It was planned in 1989, faced opposition from local residents and some civil society organisations and was shelved until 2000. At that time, it was reinitiated; people were displaced and their homes were demolished to make way for the construction.

The objectives of the expressway were cited to be the reduction of traffic and an improvement in the environment of the people who were living in slums around the bank of the Lyari River.

Ten years on, it is not evident whether these objectives were achieved to any extent. A study focusing on the impact of the involuntary displacement on women has been completed recently by the Social Policy Development Centre (SPDC) and its findings constitute a cause for concern.

While other weaknesses of implementation have caused extensive delays, high costs and design changes after approvals have been obtained, the most glaring lacuna has been a complete disregard of the need for environmental impact studies, and involvement of the people to be affected.

The number of people estimated as having been displaced was a little over 14,000 in 2002. The actual number displaced and relocated to sites away from the city is about 250,000.

Findings indicate that during the displacement, almost 50 per cent of the working women lost their income and boys had to forego education in order to pay for increased household expenses. Initially, the displaced households were supplied water through tankers.

This has been discontinued and the poor community now bears the additional brunt of paying for water. No health facilities exist as the clinics are devoid of medical personnel or medicines and transport availability is patchy at best.

It is obvious that the displacement was carried out in haste, with no prior feasibility and no assessment of issues and solutions. No economic, social or environmental impact assessment was conducted prior to finalising the design or giving the approval for implementation. Now, the government is planning to lay out the Malir Expressway. Again, the publicly announced reason is a reduction in traffic congestion. It is expected, as before, that travel distances will be reduced and commuters will be provided relief.

One has not yet heard of an EIA, or a socioeconomic survey to identify how many people may be affected and in what ways, and no public hearings have been organised. Local NGOs and the public may spring into action at some stage, but the process of awarding construction contracts has been so murky and riddled with ‘approvals from the highest authorities’ that human needs are unlikely to be considered any time in the near future.

In Sindh, as with other development sectors, urban planning too has suffered. It suffers not from the lack of skills or capacity, but from deeply ingrained corruption, patronage and focus on short-term gains (read electoral votes), rather than long-term priorities and benefits for the maximum number of people.

The only hope rests with either a suo moto action by the higher judicial courts, or a group of citizens getting together to file public action litigation against all construction that is carried out without an adequate assessment of impacts, mitigation and funds. The media too, can help in raising a voice. Will anyone hear it, though?

The writer is a development professional who formerly headed an international environmental organisation.