Metro bus project question hour: Quick exit best way out for CDA chief

Senate panel asks environmental activists to come up with recommendations.

ISLAMABAD:

Parliamentarians on Wednesday called on city managers to take immediate steps to mitigate the inevitable damage the metro bus project will cause to the capital’s environment.

A sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat met at Parliament House to discuss violations of rules committed in designing and executing the multi-billion project.

After a two-hour discussion on the high cost of the project estimated to be Rs43 billion for the twin cities and adverse environmental impact, participants deplored the irresponsive attitude of the Punjab and federal governments and their disregard for concerns raised by environmentalists and opponents. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, who left the venue shortly afterwards in the middle of the proceedings, defended the project to the best of his ability.

In reply to a question raised by Senator Sughra Imam on the Punjab government’s mandate, CDA Chairman Maroof Afzal cited article 146 (a) of the Constitution, stating it did not bar federal and provincial governments from carrying out development work in each other’s domain with mutual consent.

Senator Imam said the federal and Punjab governments had set a bad precedent. Afzal answered that RDA was mandated as the executing agency after taking CDA on board.

However, none of the participant quoted from the CDA Ordinance 1960 in a rejoinder or referred to a verdict given by the apex court in the Multi Professional Cooperative Housing Society case. The court had cancelled a joint venture the society had entered into with the CDA to develop Sector E-11’s northern strip, stating that CDA was itself a civic agency with the mandate carry out development work and no department or organisation could so on its behalf.

The public transport project is meant to serve vested interests and not to facilitate the poor public, stated convener of the subcommittee Senator Kamil Ali Agha. The Punjab government is giving Rs1.5 billion annual subsidy to Lahore to run the metro bus. “Can a poor nation afford to spend so much?” Agha questioned.

Environmentalist Dr Jawad Chishtie drew the attention of participants towards the fact that Pak-EPA held a public hearing after RDA had started work started at the site prior to obtaining environmental clearance.

Pak-Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) Director General Muhammad Khurshid said a notice had been served to RDA for the violation, but the agency claimed that contractors had just moved their equipment and initiated construction work.

Agha observed that like all other departments and organisations Pak-EPA was also a federal government department and bound to follow instructions instead of acting independently.

He asked a group of civil society representatives present at the meeting to give recommendations within a week after going through the conditions set by Pak-EPA to approve the project.

After listening to the state of affairs from stakeholders, Agha said, “It’s evident we are living in the Mughal era.”

“Our sole concern was environmental degradation as a result of this project, but that’s done already. Now we are concerned about damage control,” said civil society representative Dushka Sayed.

Officials of CDA and Pak-EPA, civil society representatives and environmental activists participated the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2014.