CDA calls off public hearing of landfill site

Punjab environmental dept raises objection to hastily called public debate on waste dumping at Losar

RAWALPINDI:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) had to postpon the public hearing regarding the dumping of the capital’s waste on Chak Belli Road at Losar in the suburb of Rawalpindi after the Punjab Environment Protection Department objected to the hurriedly called public debate.

Last week, the Rawalpindi administration allocated 1200-kanal of land to the CDA in Mauza Losar to dump the capital’s waste in violation of the court order. Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema through a notification had given formal permission to the CDA to dump all garbage and harmful hospital waste from Islamabad at the Losar dumping site.

As the hearing commenced on Friday at F-9 Park in Islamabad, the Punjab Environment Protection Department opposed the CDA's request for the issuance of the no-objection certificate for the project objecting that the public hearing had been called hastily which was against section 9(3) of the environmental regulation. It sad that no public hearing could be held so hastily and prematurely for a mega project.

The Punjab Environment Protection Department also raised the objection the public hearing location (F-9 Park) was 50 kilometres away from the project site and the local residents were unable to travel that far. It said that this remote location for the public hearing from the landfill site was also a violation of the regulation and hence a notification was issued to cancel the public hearing.

Local residents have already announced to move the court with a contempt petition stating that the Rawalpindi administration has allowed the CDA to dump the waste at Losar in violation of the court order.

They said that instead of moving the waste dumping site to Mandra–Chakwal Road, the Rawalpindi administration has not only allowed the CDA to dispose of waste at Losar but also decided to dump the waste of the garrison city at the same location.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government had approved removing the dumping ground spreading on 1,250-kanal at Losar and moving it to Mandra–Chakwal Road. However, the current Rawalpindi administration decided against the order of the high court and allowed the CDA to dump the capital’s waste at the current dumping site.

After the local administration allowed the CDA to dump the waste at Losar, around 120,000 residents of the area announced to file a contempt plea in the high court against the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner.

They announced to challenge the deputy commissioner’s notification allowing the CDA to dump the capita’s waste. Thoba, Bada Meera, Chhota Meera, Hari, Bhambli Meera and other villages are also located in the area.

The locals said that due to the dumping of garbage at Losar, citizens were already suffering from cancer, skin diseases, tuberculosis, and throat, stomach, and eye irritation.

They said that the dumping of the capital’s waste will further exacerbate ailments and put the locals at higher risk of catching diseases.

They said that the construction of the new dumping ground for Islamabad will also lead to the shutting down of 15 brick kilns in Losar and nearby villages. Zigzag technology had been installed in these brick kilns at a cost of millions of rupees a year ago. The closure of these brick kilns will increase the prices of bricks and render thousands of workers jobless.

Mohammad Asif advocate and Imran Aziz said that on their earlier petition, the high court had decided to remove the dumping ground from Losar and shift it to Mandra Road. They said that Islamabad is a separate district, so how can the garbage of the federal capital be dumped in Punjab?

They said that the deputy commissioner has illegally allowed the garbage of Islamabad to be dumped in Rawalpindi. They said that they have decided to challenge the decision in the high court.

The locals said that Islamabad is a separate district and it has a sizable land where it can select a site for dumping waste and a landfill site. They said that they will not allow the construction of the landfill site in Rawalpindi for dumping Islamabad’s waste.

 According to Mohammad Asif advocate, the Rawalpindi commissioner has given the go-ahead for the development of a new landfill on Mandira Chakwal Road per the court ruling. He said that the dumping site at Losar should also be shifted there immediately.

Meanwhile, locals also held a grand jirga and they unanimously vowed that no truck or vehicle would be permitted to dump garbage at Losar after Eid-ul-Fitr.

Meanwhile, the CDA has decided to contact the Punjab caretaker government to set a new date for the public hearing for obtaining the NOC after it failed to swiftly obtain the NOC declaring the project environmental-friendly.

Earlier, the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench ruled that the garbage dumping site at Losar, which covers 1,250-kanal, was illegal and unlawful.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2023.