Environment protection: Court directs chief secy to begin work on Ravi clean-up

The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs50 million

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court on Wednesday ordered the chief secretary to take immediate steps to set up a bioremediation project recommended by an LHC-appointed commission on River Ravi.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah passed the order. The judge directed the chief secretary to act on the recommendations of the River Ravi Commission and ensure protection of fundamental rights of citizens of Lahore. The judge said steps should be taken to preserve aquatic life in River Ravi. The court ordered the chief secretary to submit an interim report in this regard in a month. Earlier, the court had directed the River Ravi Commission to hold a meeting to re-evaluate the bioremediation project and deliberate on the current status and cost of River Ravi Front Development Project proposed by the LDA.

The commission submitted in its report to the court that there was no objection to setting up the project. The report stated that the bioremediation project was a sustainable solution for cleaning polluted water entering River Ravi.

The cost of the project was estimated at Rs50 million in the report. Fifty acres land is required to build the ponds.

An LDA counsel told the court that the River Ravi Project would cost USD3 billion (approximately Rs318 billion). He said land required for the project was around 300 acres. “The land has not been acquired yet,” he said.

Rafay Alam, the petitioner’s said out that the commission had inquired about the status of the River Ravi Front Development Project at a previous meeting and according to the information it had received, the PC-1 had not been prepared nor had the environmental impact been assessed.

He said seven components of the proposed River Ravi Project pertained to waste management but none of them had been initiated.

A WASA representative told the court that 50 acres for the project land was under the agency’s possession. “Until the River Ravi Front Development Project materialises, the bioremediation Project can be put in place with only 0.16 per cent of the cost of the River Ravi Front Development Project.”

The court adjourned hearing till January 13, 2016.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2015.