Ravi project not to use agricultural land: LHC

Petitioner says project will damage environment

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) restrained the provincial government from acquiring agricultural land for establishing Ravi Urban Project.

LHC’s judge Justice Ali Baqar Najafi was hearing a petition wherein the government’s conduct, of acquiring agricultural and for establishing Ravi Urban Project, had been challenged.

The judge also directed the office to club all petitions and fixed for hearing at the relevant court. Petitioner Hassan Ali Ranjha made respondents to Punjab Environmental Protection Agency through director-general, the government of Punjab through local government secretary, Ravi Urban Development Authority through director general, secretary to Chief Minister Punjab and Lahore Development Authority through director-general.

Petitioner’s counsel Sheraz Zaka contended that the government is acquiring the agricultural land for the aforementioned project.

Acquiring agricultural land will increase environmental pollution, the petitioner added. The petitioner contended to the court that Lahore had already been mentioned in the list of the world’s polluted cities.

He contended the current status of the increased air pollution warrants the need to raise a red flag, as smog has engulfed the entire city, as a repercussion of which foreseeable yet preventable calamities will materialise, some of which include diseases of the eye and respiratory disorders.

This photochemical smog contains a toxic mixture of air pollutants like Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and other volatile organic compounds. Smog is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. When smoke produced by things like the transport or energy sectors meets with an inversion cloud — a particular meteorological phenomenon that causes fog — smog is produced.

The inversion cloud acts as a lid, trapping air pollution over the area producing it. And it lasts as long as the inversion cloud isn’t blown away or dissipated by rain.

Inversion clouds don’t happen all the time. What’s more common during the transition from hot to cold seasons is that the colder air condenses and you can see the air pollution. This is not smog. It’s more of a haze or just smokes. But it’s as dangerous as smog.

The current Air Quality Index is high enough to adversely affect healthy people in the long run and will exacerbate and aggravate the condition of the ones who are already suffering from respiratory-related ailments, such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, etc. Air pollution can cause immediate health issues such as respiratory illness, stress to the lungs and the heart (which must work harder to supply the body with oxygen) and damaged cells in the respiratory system.

The passivity of the governmental departments, which are responsible for the upkeep and protection of the environment, in this ongoing crisis, is both alarming and disconcerting.

Meanwhile, talking to The Express Tribune LDA Vice Chairman SM Imran expelled the impression about Ravi Urban Project as an "anti-environment project" claiming it was purely an environment-friendly project that will provide water to an area of around 340-kilometer adjacent Ravi River.

He said they had the environmental assessment done and the project had no environmental hazards.

“We required a NOC from the environment department to begin our work on the ground.

A negative impression is being created about this project.

Lots of trees are being planted there. We are working on water conservation to resolve water deficiency issues.” He said the population was increasing and the land was we had to use the land for such projects.

He said we are using the land in a proper way rather than using it for our vested interests In November last year, a large number of citizens affected by the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project, including industrialists and landowners, staged a protest demonstration at Mehmood Booti Interchange and demanded the government stop work on the project.