Public Hearing: Locals reject plan for Losar landfill site

Demand removal of existing dumping ground in light of court orders

RAWALPINDI:

During a public hearing, held by the Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD), about the proposed acquisition of additional 600 kanals of land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for a new waste dumping site in Losar, Rawat area of Rawalpindi, the residents of the area not only categorically refused to give their land for the purpose by also demanded removal of the existing garbage dumping ground for Rawalpindi in light of the court orders.

The objectors were of the view that this project has already been rejected by the commissioner, deputy commissioner and the EPD by declaring it impractical and hazardous to the lives of the citizens, so proposing it again is nothing but absurd.

“The government now wants to stamp this project only with a ‘yes’ in the name of the public hearing, which we will not allow in any case,” the locals said.

Around 250 representatives of 15 adjacent villages of the area participated in the public hearing and rejected the government’s offer to build a 15-feet high wall on all four sides of the dumping ground site, electricity and gas generation from the collected waste, and establishment of a water filtration plant on allotment of land for the project.

“When a public hearing was held here in 2004 to build the garbage dumping ground for the Rawalpindi district, the government had announced that the place of the dumping ground would be 15 feet deep and at this depth, garbage would be destroyed by technical machinery,” they said.

“The government had further announced that a 15-feet high boundary wall would be built around the dumping site and gas and electricity would be generated from the waste, which would be available only to the local population.

Additionally, a school, a mini hospital and a water filtration plant would be set up, but today 19 years have passed and not a single promise has been fulfilled while the garbage is so abundant that the piles of waste have reached a height of 15 feet,” they added.

The area residents, however, said: “If the CDA allots 600 kanals of land in the inhabitable sectors of Islamabad to the people whose lands are being affected and all the adjacent land owners are allotted a one-kanal plot each in the federal capital, only then we can consider giving the 600 kanals of land for the dumping ground.” The public hearing was held in District Council Hall.

Having proposed to build another dumping ground on 600 kanal land adjacent to the 600 kanal dumping ground at Losar, Rawat for dumping the waste of Islamabad, the public hearing committee reiterated its offer to generate electricity and gas from the garbage which was met with strong protest by the residents.

“There is a huge area of land lying vacant in Islamabad.

It cannot build a dumping ground in Rawalpindi,” the victims said.

They added that skin diseases were spread among the 2,500,000 people around the dumping ground for Rawalpindi.

“Approximately, 80 per cent of the population here is suffering from chronic diseases.

Cancer, TB, ear nose and throat illnesses have become common in the area,” they said.