A public hearing on creating a new landfill in the suburban and hilly region of Sangjiani on the confluence of the Islamabad-Punjab border ended without any clear conclusion on Tuesday after the government faced immense backlash from locals.
A hearing on the creation of the new landfill for the federal capital was organised by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) at the Convention Centre on Tuesday morning.
Even though the meeting had been kept in the morning on a working day, dozens of residents and professionals who work in and around Sangjiani showed up for the hearing, filling almost all the rows immediately in front of the rostrum.
Proceedings began with a briefing by the project consultant. But as soon as the consultants stepped down and the floor was opened for questions, pandemonium broke out.
Residents of Sangjiani - Sector B-17, who came with placards started to vociferously make their opinions known to the civic administrators of the city. ‘Sanjiani landfill unacceptable’ they chanted.
They raised concerns that the proximity of the landfill to the densely populated areas of the region will put the lives of thousands who live there in danger.
With around 700 tonnes of Pak-EPA Director General (DG) Farzana Altaf and CDA Sanitation Director Sardar Khan Zimri attempted to assuage the fears of locals, stating that the project will not be initiated until their reservations are thoroughly addressed.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2020.
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