F-9 Park grid station: CDA drops ball in IESCO’s court
Says environment impact assessment should be taken into account before construction.
The CDA is in the process of allotting a plot to Iesco in the park not only in violation of CDA rules but also in defiance of an assurance it gave to the Supreme Court in 2011. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
City managers are cleverly advancing with establishing a grid station inside Fatima Jinnah Park in violation of rules and its own word.
Expecting fallout from a recent decision of its board where it approved, in violation of defined rules, the re-planning of 10 kanals of parkland for a grid station, the CDA is trying to pass the buck to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco).
The CDA is in the process of allotting a plot to Iesco in the park not only in violation of CDA rules but also in defiance of an assurance it gave to the Supreme Court in 2011.
In a letter recently written to Iesco, the CDA asked it to obtain an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report from the Pakistan-Environment Protection Agency before initiating work at the site.
A copy of the letter, seen by The Express Tribune, states that an EIA report is mandatory before initiation of work, otherwise the establishment of the grid station will be in violation of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act and the CDA Environmental Protection Regulation.
On November 1 this year, the CDA board approved re-adjustment of a plot measuring 10-kanal for a grid station to cater to future needs of a commercial complex at Blue Area.
The original location earmarked for the facility was a chunk of uneven land along the bank of a seasonal stream passing through a corner of the park, but after site was declared unusable, a new area 400 feet further into the park was marked.
In 2011, the when CDA came up with the idea of establishing the grid station, Zubair Usmani, a retired government official, moved the apex court against the decision.
According to Usmani, The incumbent CDA management reinitiated that process contrary to the fact that in 2011 it gave a written assurance to the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court disposed of my petition following the submission of a written reply by the CDA where it assured the court that it had no plans to allocate land in the park for a grid station,” Usmani told The Express Tribune.
Usmani said the CDA decision violates constitutional provisions on fundamental rights and disregards earlier decisions of the Supreme Court in similar human rights cases.
“The decision contravenes the master plans of the park and Islamabad city as well,” he added.
A senior CDA official told The Express Tribune that the CDA wrote the letter to Iesco knowing full well that an EIA for the project could not be carried out in protected areas such as public parks.
“An EIA is carried out in areas where construction is allowed. In the case of a public park where the land use is clearly defined by CDA laws, the question of carrying out an environment study is ludicrous and just an attempt to pass the buck,” the official added.
The 25 megawatt grid station is expected to primarily meet future demand from the multipurpose Centaurus complex in Blue Area.
CDA Chairman Nadeem Hassan Asif could not be reached for comment despite several attempts.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2013.
City managers are cleverly advancing with establishing a grid station inside Fatima Jinnah Park in violation of rules and its own word.
Expecting fallout from a recent decision of its board where it approved, in violation of defined rules, the re-planning of 10 kanals of parkland for a grid station, the CDA is trying to pass the buck to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco).
The CDA is in the process of allotting a plot to Iesco in the park not only in violation of CDA rules but also in defiance of an assurance it gave to the Supreme Court in 2011.
In a letter recently written to Iesco, the CDA asked it to obtain an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report from the Pakistan-Environment Protection Agency before initiating work at the site.
A copy of the letter, seen by The Express Tribune, states that an EIA report is mandatory before initiation of work, otherwise the establishment of the grid station will be in violation of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act and the CDA Environmental Protection Regulation.
On November 1 this year, the CDA board approved re-adjustment of a plot measuring 10-kanal for a grid station to cater to future needs of a commercial complex at Blue Area.
The original location earmarked for the facility was a chunk of uneven land along the bank of a seasonal stream passing through a corner of the park, but after site was declared unusable, a new area 400 feet further into the park was marked.
In 2011, the when CDA came up with the idea of establishing the grid station, Zubair Usmani, a retired government official, moved the apex court against the decision.
According to Usmani, The incumbent CDA management reinitiated that process contrary to the fact that in 2011 it gave a written assurance to the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court disposed of my petition following the submission of a written reply by the CDA where it assured the court that it had no plans to allocate land in the park for a grid station,” Usmani told The Express Tribune.
Usmani said the CDA decision violates constitutional provisions on fundamental rights and disregards earlier decisions of the Supreme Court in similar human rights cases.
“The decision contravenes the master plans of the park and Islamabad city as well,” he added.
A senior CDA official told The Express Tribune that the CDA wrote the letter to Iesco knowing full well that an EIA for the project could not be carried out in protected areas such as public parks.
“An EIA is carried out in areas where construction is allowed. In the case of a public park where the land use is clearly defined by CDA laws, the question of carrying out an environment study is ludicrous and just an attempt to pass the buck,” the official added.
The 25 megawatt grid station is expected to primarily meet future demand from the multipurpose Centaurus complex in Blue Area.
CDA Chairman Nadeem Hassan Asif could not be reached for comment despite several attempts.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2013.