The Lahore High Court (LHC), on Monday, dismissed a writ petition challenging the construction of a flyover at Kalma Chowk on Ferozepur Road terming it ‘against the facility of the general public’.
The court admonished the petitioner’s lawyer, Ahmad Rafay Alam, when he pressed his petition. Chief Justice (CJ) Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry told Alam that people were already suffering on account of the petition he had filed against the Canal Road widening project in the name of saving trees which had brought it to a halt. The CJ asked the lawyer if he had seen the long queues of vehicles at Kalma Chowk stuck in traffic jams? As he dismissed the petition, CJ Chaudhry asked Alam, “Why are you opposing the flyover? Do you want people to remain stuck on the road for hours?”
The lawyer said that the government was disregarding the rights of the people. The CJ responded that the benefit of many is preferred to the loss of a few.
The petition was filed by the Lahore Conservation Society, Shajar Dost, Worldwide Fund for Nature-Pakistan and the Concerned Citizens of Pakistan.
Alam submitted that contractors engaged by the Communication and Works Department (C&WD) had cut down scores of trees and had begun digging around the project site. He said, according to the project’s summary, the C&WD had requested an allocation of Rs1.2 billion during 2010-11. The summary revealed that the C&WD engaged the National Engineering Services Pakistan Limited (NESPAK) to carry out the engineering design of the project and the National Logistics Cell (NLC) to execute the project. Alam said the chief minister approved the summary on March 5, 2011, a day after the groundbreaking ceremony.
The lawyer submitted that the sanctioning of the project, the engagement of the NESPAK and the NLC and the commencement of work violated the petitioners and the public’s fundamental right to life and a clean environment. The provisions of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act (PEPA) 1997 and the Procurement Rules were also violated, he added.
Alam listed the felling of trees and plants, devastation of biodiversity of the area and the adverse environmental effect on the area’s residents as some of the negative results of the project.
He also pointed out that noise produced by the construction will have adverse environmental effects. The increase in automobiles accessing the area due to the completion of the project will increase the carbon monoxide and other noxious emissions into the environment.
The petitioner’s lawyer pointed out that the procedure prescribed by the PEPA and the rules of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) require the full exercise of the principles of precautionary measures as well as public participation. The EIA process of public hearings and independent review provides a forum for contributions and suggestions by various stakeholders and ultimately improves the quality and environmental sustainability of the project.
The lawyer prayed to the court to declare the sanction of the project illegal and in violation of PEPA provisions and the Punjab Procurement Rules, 2007.
For instant relief, he asked the court to halt the construction work on the project site and direct the respondents to conduct an environment impact assessment of the project and submit it to the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency for approval under the Pakistan Environment Protection Act, 1997.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2011.
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