Before wildlife goes extinct and last tree chopped

NA body questions mushrooming of restaurants in hilly areas, regulation of construction in Zone IV of Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: Numerous restaurants have mushroomed in the green hilly corners of the capital. With a change in zoning regulations, more structures are expected to be built in these areas. And all of this is directly expected to cast its effect on the environment of Islamabad, its greenery, its wildlife and atmosphere.

Taking action, National Assembly Standing Committee on Environment on Saturday discussed these issues in the presence of Capital Development Authority (CDA) and environment ministry officials. Restaurants in the hilly areas of the capital, according to the committee, are causing environmental degradation.

The committee convened with Member National Assembly (MNA) Raja Muhammad Assad Khan in the chair and directed the CDA chairperson to give a detailed report about the mushroom growth of restaurants in areas such as Pir Sohawa and Daman-e-Koh.

“How and to whom have these lucrative plots for restaurants been allotted? The report should also clarify whether the plots were allotted through proper procedure and open tenders or on political grounds,” said PML-Q MNA Nosheen Saeed. She explained that there were reports that these plots for restaurants had not been granted through proper bidding process.

CDA Chairperson Imtiaz Inayat Elahi seemed to be confused over the issue and sought one week to prepare a detailed report. He said that he would give a presentation on the subject. “I don’t exactly know how these plots have been allotted as some of them (restaurants) were operational before I assumed charge as the chairperson,” he said.

One of the members, on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that most of the restaurants had been granted purely on political grounds without any tender.

“A sitting minister and an advisor to the president are also among the beneficiaries,” the member added.

The discussion also covered the change in regulations of Zone-III and Zone IV of Islamabad. “The environmental hazards arising due to the development of the zones are a serious concern,” said an official.

The CDA chairperson told the committee that the authority had to change the regulations last year, under the cabinet decision.

Elahi added that since then, the authority was strictly regulating the development in Zone-IV. CDA is also keeping an eye on the environmental aspects. He added that CDA could not stop construction on the private land because of Supreme Court’s ruling.

He added that the cabinet had empowered them in 2010 to implement CDA regulations in the zone.

“CDA has two options: either to acquire the private land in the zone or allow the people to carry out construction,” Elahi said. About Rs20 billion is needed for acquiring 70,000 acres of land in Zone-IV, but the authority does not have the required funds, he added.

However Federal Secretary Environment Khawaja Naeem negated Elahi’s argument by saying that the Supreme Court gave its decision because no one was made respondent in the petition. He also expressed his concerns over the lack of implementation of proper regulations in most of the rural areas of capital.

The committee chairperson asked both the CDA and environment ministry to prepare a briefing for the committee on “the role Parliament could play to discourage the rapid environmental degradation in the name of development.”

MNA Nosheen said, “We should play our role before the last tree is chopped and the wildlife goes extinct. Tell us what we can do as lawmakers and the role can we play to protect the environment.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2011.