Halted development: KMC challenges stay against Clifton project

DHA asked to file rebuttal by this week.

KARACHI:

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has defended the construction of several underpasses and a flyover in the Clifton locality claiming that the project was approved by the environmental protection agency.

The KMC made the claim in a counter-affidavit filed by KMC officer Niaz Ahmed Soomro in the Sindh High Court (SHC); on April 2, the SHC bench granted a temporary stay against the construction of two underpasses and a flyover in Clifton as the Defence Housing Authority alleged the project was initiated without the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The KMC officer told the bench that the stay order has caused irreparable loss to KMC and the public at large on an hourly basis. He alleged that DHA obtained the stay order with mala fide intentions despite the fact that it enjoys no locus standi to initiate proceedings. Soomro said DHA has not disclosed that the same complaints were pending before the Supreme Court, which has yet to pass any interim orders.

Soomro maintained that the manner in which the project is being constructed will ensure that it is environmentally friendly, as the flyover and underpasses will ease the flow of traffic in the area. “KMC is conscious of the environmental impact of any project of a similar nature and has taken all the needed precautions,” Soomro stated.

The corporation said it is also conscious of heritage sites – the Jahangir Kothari Parade and the Shri Ratneshwar Mahadev Mandir – in the vicinity and has already designed the project in such a way that it does not damage these sites. He added, “These heritage sites have not even been touched.” According to Soomro, the superior courts have in most cases of development considered the public benefit that would result from such construction and development.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2014.