Public good: Govt given three months to clean River Ravi

Court asks chief secy to implement the short-term plan without waiting for progress on the River Ravi Project

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court on Tuesday gave the provincial government three months to clean the River Ravi of all kinds of waste dumped in it.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah observed that pollution of the river’s waters was a matter of great public importance. He asked the chief secretary to not wait for progress in the long-term River Ravi Project and instead prepare a short-term project to clear the river of waste dumped by factories set up in its vicinity. He said the project should be completed with the same vigour and speed as was exhibited in the construction of a signal-free corridor from Qurtaba Chowk on Jail Road to Liberty Roundabout on Gulberg’s Main Boulevard. The chief secretary was asked to immediately issue funds for the purpose and submit a progress report at the next hearing.



The directive was issued during the hearing of several petitions seeking action over the alarming level of pollution in the river’s waters.

Earlier, River Ravi Commission Secretary Ahmed Rafay Alam told the court that dumping of waste in its waters was a serious threat the river’s ecosystem. He said at least 42 kinds of fish and other species found in the river. “It does not look like a river anymore. It appears to be a cesspool,” he said. Alam said it was not safe to use the river’s water for agriculture or livestock.

Alam said at least Rs30 million would be needed to carry out the short-term project.

He said the government had yet to start planning for the long-term River Ravi Project under which seven waste treatment plants would be established along the river’s bank at a cost of Rs3 billion. He said there had been no progress on the approval of the project digest (PC-1) for the purpose.

Lahore Development Authority’s (LDA) counsel told the court that the authority had yet to prepare a feasibility report for the long-term project. He said it planned to acquire around 30,000 acres of land for the implementation of the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th,  2015.