From The Nation, 28 November 2009
LAHORE-Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry while taking suo moto notice on an application Friday restrained Punjab government from felling trees for widening the Canal Bank Road besides summoning Chief Secretary, Environment Secretary and Project Director for December 1st at Islamabad.
‘Shajar Dost’, an organisation comprising environmentalists, had requested CJP on Wednesday, who was in the City for Eid holidays, to take suo moto notice of the issue and stop the government from cutting down trees. Their plea was that govt planned to start operation during Eid holidays, without meeting its obligations under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997.
According to them, Punjab government is planning to widen road on both sides of the Canal from Thokar Niaz Baig to Dharampura underpass at a hefty cost of Rs 3.15 billion and that the project would cause cutting down of thousands of trees.
Read the rest of the post here.
Showing posts with label lahore canal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lahore canal. Show all posts
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Road Widening Solution "Fallacy"
"Issue of the Week", by Zaheer Mahmoor Siddiqui in Dawn Metropolitan, 15 November 2009
LAHORE, Nov 14: Road widening has historically failed as a solution to traffic congestion and it is now a basic axiom of traffic design according to architects, town planners, environmentalists, lawyers, artists, prominent citizens and activists.
“Widened roads only attract more vehicles and eventually end up being inadequate for the everincreasing traffic load,” they share the opinion as they were asked to comment on the Punjab government’s decision to further widen Canal Bank Road.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had on Nov 7 approved the road widening project the first phase of which -- from Thokar Niaz Beg to Dharampura -- would be completed in a year at a cost of Rs3.15 billion.
An official of the Punjab Communication and Works de partment told Dawn that work on the project would be started soon after Eidul Azha. “It is the same project taken in hand by the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency of the Lahore Development Authority in 2007 after conducting its environ ment impact assessment (EIA). It was estimated to be completed for Rs700 million at that time but now with minor changes and enhanced prices of cement, iron and labour charges, its cost has increased to Rs3.15 billion,” said the official who sought anonymity.
He said the project was necessary to cope with the increased traffic load, especially due to Motorway traffic, and the vehicular movement towards Raiwind Road.
Over the past two decades, rapid growth in population and vehicles in Lahore has resulted in wor sening traffic situation, said the official, who added that vehicle registration had increased from 52 to over 116 per 1,000 inhabitants while the number of private cars had increased over the same period from 13 to over 100 per 1,000 inhabitants.
He said the traffic volume on Canal Road had doubled in the last four years to over 220,000 vehicles a day, which was almost twice the road capacity and widening of the road would overcome this problem.
The proposed length of the project to be upgraded is 14 kilometres and the improvement plan involves construction of an additional 18-foot-wide road plus six-footwide earthen shoulders on the each side. Resurfacing, development and improvement of service roads (all 18 feet wide), standardising access to/from service roads, construction of bus bays and shelters, development of green areas and plantation of trees are also included in the project, said the C&W official.
Lahore Bachao Tehreek convener and architect Imrana Tiwana, environmentalist Rafay Alam and conservationist Dr Ajaz Anwar argue that work on a project, estimated to consume hefty public money, could not be initiated without an environment impact assessment (EIA) report.
“The project will only add to the pollution in the city because it is an example of automobile dependant development. Investment in public transport over the last decade is negligible compared to the amounts successive governments have spent in elite-dominated automobilefriendly development.
Traffic congestion can be reduced in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner. The government should operate efficient public transport and augment Multan and Iqbal Town roads for better access to motorway and Raiwind,” said Imrana.
“The Rs700 million project’s EIA had flaws and was challenged in the Lahore High Court where it is still pending,” said Rafay Alam, also a lawyer. He said if the project had been revised, a fresh EIA would be required otherwise it would be in sheer violation of environmental laws.
“The huge amount being spent on widening of a road can better be utilised for the provision of public transport, education and health sectors,” said Alam while adding that the Lahore Bachao Tehrik and the Darakht Bachao Committee had pointed out flaws in the EIA conducted by Nespak in 2007 on remodelling of Canal Bank Road from Thokar Niaz Beg to Dharampura.
Alam said the EIA report on the project itself said it would have some adverse environmental impacts, including cutting of 1,850 trees, and loss of ecological habitat, a major adverse impact of the project. Other environmental impacts included handling and disposal of construction waste, contamination of surface and ground water, disruption of traffic, deterioration of air quality, increase in noise level, impact on pedestrian bridges, safety of workers and public and safety of pedestrians and cyclists, he maintained.
The EIA report was prepared in haste because it lacked the long-term impacts of the environmental changes to be caused by felling of trees. The sampling procedure, adopted by the EIA, was insufficient and it lacked reliability as it was only carried out for 24 hours and did not explain seasonal variations and other metrological factors. He said in creased air pollution due to felling of trees would badly affect health of millions.
“Increase in asthma, skin infections, heart and liver malfunctioning and spread of TB on a large scale are some adverse impacts the inhabitants of Lahore will have to face after completion of the project,” he maintained, asking what the government will do after the proposed road would be full of traffic.
He said besides questioning the eligibility of the Provincial Environmental Department for taking the EIA out of the project and said the EPD was a provincial department and it could not take the EIA out of a project of the Punjab government. He said the EIA should be prepared by the federal EPD to ensure transparency and good governance.
“The congestion figures in the EIA e.g. 200,000 cars a day are not a valid means of calculating how a road is used; it is silent over air pollution and does not contain assessments of base value, construction phase pollution, project lifetime estimates etc. Only noise and vibration information relates to the construction phase and does not assess the noise and vibration when the project is complete.
“It does not contain an assessment of the visual intrusion caused as a result of the project; it contains no assessment of how ‘severance’ caused by the road widening will affect the community, especially when one area the canal road passes through is the Punjab University and the EIA contains no reference as to how safety and accidents-related issues will be dealt with,” said Alam.
Quoting a World Wide Fund for Nature study, Dr Ajaz Anwar said a number of flaws in the EIA had been noticed during a rapid-assessment research conducted by the scientific committee of the fund.
The WWF research had revealed that the total vegetation on the canal bank comprised 6,557 shrubs and 14,831 trees, whereas the total number of mature trees on both greenbelts was 10,128.
But, according to a Nespak report, only 1,850 mature trees would be cut owing to the proposed road widening, he said. Whereas the study conducted by the WWF found that 5,299 mature trees would have to be cut to implement the project, requiring 18-foot widening of the road on both sides of green belts, he added.
Dr Anwar said mammals like small Indian mongoose and palm squirrel, insects like centipedes, earthworms, dragonfly, different types of butterflies such as peacock pansy and honeybees and amphibians such as Indus Valley Bullfrog, common frog, toads, besides reptiles like monitor lizards and geckos and some rare species of birds such as grey hornbill and yellow-footed green pigeon were also under serious threat due to destruction of their habitat.
“Besides causing all the ecological damage, the project would have serious impact on the health, aesthetic and socio-economic conditions of the residents and vendors of the area,” said the conservationist who had been a senior faculty member of the National College of Arts.
Quoting the WWF survey, he said, 95 per cent of the residents were against the cutting of trees. On inquiring, 30 per cent of them replied that there would be an ecological loss, 28 per cent feared loss of natural beauty and 10 per cent loss of protective function of the vegetation.
“Instead of massacring trees, encroachments occupying the roadsides should be removed in order to facilitate smooth traffic flow. An intra-city high volume bus service should also be introduced to reduce traffic load on the road, besides identification of alternate routes for diverting the traffic with the technical assistance of experts for sustainable development for such projects,” he said.
LAHORE, Nov 14: Road widening has historically failed as a solution to traffic congestion and it is now a basic axiom of traffic design according to architects, town planners, environmentalists, lawyers, artists, prominent citizens and activists.
“Widened roads only attract more vehicles and eventually end up being inadequate for the everincreasing traffic load,” they share the opinion as they were asked to comment on the Punjab government’s decision to further widen Canal Bank Road.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had on Nov 7 approved the road widening project the first phase of which -- from Thokar Niaz Beg to Dharampura -- would be completed in a year at a cost of Rs3.15 billion.
An official of the Punjab Communication and Works de partment told Dawn that work on the project would be started soon after Eidul Azha. “It is the same project taken in hand by the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency of the Lahore Development Authority in 2007 after conducting its environ ment impact assessment (EIA). It was estimated to be completed for Rs700 million at that time but now with minor changes and enhanced prices of cement, iron and labour charges, its cost has increased to Rs3.15 billion,” said the official who sought anonymity.
He said the project was necessary to cope with the increased traffic load, especially due to Motorway traffic, and the vehicular movement towards Raiwind Road.
Over the past two decades, rapid growth in population and vehicles in Lahore has resulted in wor sening traffic situation, said the official, who added that vehicle registration had increased from 52 to over 116 per 1,000 inhabitants while the number of private cars had increased over the same period from 13 to over 100 per 1,000 inhabitants.
He said the traffic volume on Canal Road had doubled in the last four years to over 220,000 vehicles a day, which was almost twice the road capacity and widening of the road would overcome this problem.
The proposed length of the project to be upgraded is 14 kilometres and the improvement plan involves construction of an additional 18-foot-wide road plus six-footwide earthen shoulders on the each side. Resurfacing, development and improvement of service roads (all 18 feet wide), standardising access to/from service roads, construction of bus bays and shelters, development of green areas and plantation of trees are also included in the project, said the C&W official.
Lahore Bachao Tehreek convener and architect Imrana Tiwana, environmentalist Rafay Alam and conservationist Dr Ajaz Anwar argue that work on a project, estimated to consume hefty public money, could not be initiated without an environment impact assessment (EIA) report.
“The project will only add to the pollution in the city because it is an example of automobile dependant development. Investment in public transport over the last decade is negligible compared to the amounts successive governments have spent in elite-dominated automobilefriendly development.
Traffic congestion can be reduced in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner. The government should operate efficient public transport and augment Multan and Iqbal Town roads for better access to motorway and Raiwind,” said Imrana.
“The Rs700 million project’s EIA had flaws and was challenged in the Lahore High Court where it is still pending,” said Rafay Alam, also a lawyer. He said if the project had been revised, a fresh EIA would be required otherwise it would be in sheer violation of environmental laws.
“The huge amount being spent on widening of a road can better be utilised for the provision of public transport, education and health sectors,” said Alam while adding that the Lahore Bachao Tehrik and the Darakht Bachao Committee had pointed out flaws in the EIA conducted by Nespak in 2007 on remodelling of Canal Bank Road from Thokar Niaz Beg to Dharampura.
Alam said the EIA report on the project itself said it would have some adverse environmental impacts, including cutting of 1,850 trees, and loss of ecological habitat, a major adverse impact of the project. Other environmental impacts included handling and disposal of construction waste, contamination of surface and ground water, disruption of traffic, deterioration of air quality, increase in noise level, impact on pedestrian bridges, safety of workers and public and safety of pedestrians and cyclists, he maintained.
The EIA report was prepared in haste because it lacked the long-term impacts of the environmental changes to be caused by felling of trees. The sampling procedure, adopted by the EIA, was insufficient and it lacked reliability as it was only carried out for 24 hours and did not explain seasonal variations and other metrological factors. He said in creased air pollution due to felling of trees would badly affect health of millions.
“Increase in asthma, skin infections, heart and liver malfunctioning and spread of TB on a large scale are some adverse impacts the inhabitants of Lahore will have to face after completion of the project,” he maintained, asking what the government will do after the proposed road would be full of traffic.
He said besides questioning the eligibility of the Provincial Environmental Department for taking the EIA out of the project and said the EPD was a provincial department and it could not take the EIA out of a project of the Punjab government. He said the EIA should be prepared by the federal EPD to ensure transparency and good governance.
“The congestion figures in the EIA e.g. 200,000 cars a day are not a valid means of calculating how a road is used; it is silent over air pollution and does not contain assessments of base value, construction phase pollution, project lifetime estimates etc. Only noise and vibration information relates to the construction phase and does not assess the noise and vibration when the project is complete.
“It does not contain an assessment of the visual intrusion caused as a result of the project; it contains no assessment of how ‘severance’ caused by the road widening will affect the community, especially when one area the canal road passes through is the Punjab University and the EIA contains no reference as to how safety and accidents-related issues will be dealt with,” said Alam.
Quoting a World Wide Fund for Nature study, Dr Ajaz Anwar said a number of flaws in the EIA had been noticed during a rapid-assessment research conducted by the scientific committee of the fund.
The WWF research had revealed that the total vegetation on the canal bank comprised 6,557 shrubs and 14,831 trees, whereas the total number of mature trees on both greenbelts was 10,128.
But, according to a Nespak report, only 1,850 mature trees would be cut owing to the proposed road widening, he said. Whereas the study conducted by the WWF found that 5,299 mature trees would have to be cut to implement the project, requiring 18-foot widening of the road on both sides of green belts, he added.
Dr Anwar said mammals like small Indian mongoose and palm squirrel, insects like centipedes, earthworms, dragonfly, different types of butterflies such as peacock pansy and honeybees and amphibians such as Indus Valley Bullfrog, common frog, toads, besides reptiles like monitor lizards and geckos and some rare species of birds such as grey hornbill and yellow-footed green pigeon were also under serious threat due to destruction of their habitat.
“Besides causing all the ecological damage, the project would have serious impact on the health, aesthetic and socio-economic conditions of the residents and vendors of the area,” said the conservationist who had been a senior faculty member of the National College of Arts.
Quoting the WWF survey, he said, 95 per cent of the residents were against the cutting of trees. On inquiring, 30 per cent of them replied that there would be an ecological loss, 28 per cent feared loss of natural beauty and 10 per cent loss of protective function of the vegetation.
“Instead of massacring trees, encroachments occupying the roadsides should be removed in order to facilitate smooth traffic flow. An intra-city high volume bus service should also be introduced to reduce traffic load on the road, besides identification of alternate routes for diverting the traffic with the technical assistance of experts for sustainable development for such projects,” he said.
Battle for Lahore
By Jalees Hazir (in The Nation, 15 November 2009)
The Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved a Rs 3.5 billion road-widening project for the Lahore Canal Road from Dharampura to Thokar Niaz Beg. This ill-advised plan threatens the most valuable asset of the city and will cause irreparable damage to not only the natural environment, but also the unique and friendly social fabric of the city, if it goes ahead. The question is: Why does the chief minister, who does not tire of harping upon his sincerity to the people, want to embark upon such an anti-people disaster?
Read the rest of this excellent article here.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Lahore Bachao Update
Dear All,
I must first apologize for such a delay between updates of Lahore Bachao's activities. One took for granted to reprieve an August and September coupled with Court holidays and Ramzan brings, and the transition to full-time regular hours has been strenuous to say the least. Also, my Facebook account was, for some reason, disabled, and rendered me incommunicado on the various forums I contributed to. I will spare you all the details of the episode save to say that it has been a bizarre Kafka-meets-the-Internet experience but, as a result, I have been very productive at work ;)
Since the last time Lahore Bachao met, much has happened. I must first report that our efforts to raise awareness and attract publicity through the media worked and our strategy to speak of sustainable urban development rather than the specific issues of the trees on the Canal have been successful. The Chief Minister, taking note of the voice raised by Lahore Bachao, formed a committee under MPA Hamza Shahbaz to inquire into our grievance against the road-widening scheme. The committee invited Imrana Tiwana, Tamkinat Karim and myself for presentation. The Director General of the LDA, officer of the TEPA and other government officials were present and, after a productive exchange of ideas, it was decided that we would be given the chance to make a presentation before the Chief Minister some time after Eid. So far, we haven't gotten the invite, but are expecting it any day. On a personal level, it is my reading that the government officials we spoke to, including the members of the committee, were by and large against the destruction of the city's heritage, but were looking for good reasons to reject the canal road widening plan.
Shortly after our meeting with the committee, Imrana Tiwana and I were invited for a presentation by the TEPA and the NESPAK highway engineers who prepared the road-widening proposal. The Director General of the LDA was also present at this meeting and it was an opportunity for Lahore Bachao to once again put its views forward in an informal and friendly atmosphere.
The presentation we were shown was startling. For one, it appears that the road-widening proposal currently being discussed for the Canal road will cost somewhere in the region of Rs. 2.67 billion (and not the Rs. 700 million Lahore Bachao had been told). Second, the highway engineers that gave the proposal also freely admitted that even a road built under this proposal will fail because of traffic congestion as early as 2020. In other words, the road widening project will mean Rs. 2.67 billion spent on something that will (i) destroy the heritage of the city; and (ii) not be effective for more than 9-10 years.
On an more positive note, I must also report that all the meeting attended by Lahore Bachao, the arguments presented for the road widening and on behalf of government agencies have all focused on "counting the trees" (i.e. arguments which have to do with the number of trees cut and the number of water-consuming eucalyptus trees along the Canal). Lahore Bachao more than met these arguments by repeatedly presenting sustainable and environmentally friendly urban planning principles.
I want to take this opportunity to thank every one of you who took the time out to volunteer to raise media awareness, attend meetings and events and provide momentum to the effort to protect our city. Although a final decision regarding the Canal is yet to be taken, it is important to remember how far your assistance has brought the Lahore Bachao Tehreek.
I must first apologize for such a delay between updates of Lahore Bachao's activities. One took for granted to reprieve an August and September coupled with Court holidays and Ramzan brings, and the transition to full-time regular hours has been strenuous to say the least. Also, my Facebook account was, for some reason, disabled, and rendered me incommunicado on the various forums I contributed to. I will spare you all the details of the episode save to say that it has been a bizarre Kafka-meets-the-Internet experience but, as a result, I have been very productive at work ;)
Since the last time Lahore Bachao met, much has happened. I must first report that our efforts to raise awareness and attract publicity through the media worked and our strategy to speak of sustainable urban development rather than the specific issues of the trees on the Canal have been successful. The Chief Minister, taking note of the voice raised by Lahore Bachao, formed a committee under MPA Hamza Shahbaz to inquire into our grievance against the road-widening scheme. The committee invited Imrana Tiwana, Tamkinat Karim and myself for presentation. The Director General of the LDA, officer of the TEPA and other government officials were present and, after a productive exchange of ideas, it was decided that we would be given the chance to make a presentation before the Chief Minister some time after Eid. So far, we haven't gotten the invite, but are expecting it any day. On a personal level, it is my reading that the government officials we spoke to, including the members of the committee, were by and large against the destruction of the city's heritage, but were looking for good reasons to reject the canal road widening plan.
Shortly after our meeting with the committee, Imrana Tiwana and I were invited for a presentation by the TEPA and the NESPAK highway engineers who prepared the road-widening proposal. The Director General of the LDA was also present at this meeting and it was an opportunity for Lahore Bachao to once again put its views forward in an informal and friendly atmosphere.
The presentation we were shown was startling. For one, it appears that the road-widening proposal currently being discussed for the Canal road will cost somewhere in the region of Rs. 2.67 billion (and not the Rs. 700 million Lahore Bachao had been told). Second, the highway engineers that gave the proposal also freely admitted that even a road built under this proposal will fail because of traffic congestion as early as 2020. In other words, the road widening project will mean Rs. 2.67 billion spent on something that will (i) destroy the heritage of the city; and (ii) not be effective for more than 9-10 years.
On an more positive note, I must also report that all the meeting attended by Lahore Bachao, the arguments presented for the road widening and on behalf of government agencies have all focused on "counting the trees" (i.e. arguments which have to do with the number of trees cut and the number of water-consuming eucalyptus trees along the Canal). Lahore Bachao more than met these arguments by repeatedly presenting sustainable and environmentally friendly urban planning principles.
I want to take this opportunity to thank every one of you who took the time out to volunteer to raise media awareness, attend meetings and events and provide momentum to the effort to protect our city. Although a final decision regarding the Canal is yet to be taken, it is important to remember how far your assistance has brought the Lahore Bachao Tehreek.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Govt gets notice on plea against Canal Road project
(From The News http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=193577)
THE Lahore High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Punjab government on an application, filed by the WWF-Pakistan, Lahore Bachao Tehreek and others, seeking stay against the proposed Canal Road widening project.
The WWF-Pakistan, Lahore Bachao Tehreek and 13 other co-petitioners, including the Pakistan Environmental Lawyers Association, Lahore Conservation Society, Institute of Architects of Pakistan and Shehri-CBE, had filed a writ petition challenging the approval, granted by the Environment Protection Agency, Punjab, to the Environment Impact Assessment of the Canal Road widening project prepared by the National Engineering Service Pakistan (Nespak).
The project proponent was the Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning Agency (Tepa) and the project involved the widening of the Lahore Canal Road from Dharampura to Thokar Niaz Beg.
The Lahore Bachao Tehreek pointed out that the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) had failed to take alternative routes or transport options into consideration. Besides, it neither properly undertook a study of the noise pollution an extra lane would contribute to nor had it issued any recommendations to deal with severance, health and safety issues related to the construction of a highway in a city.
The Tehreek said that an EIA review and ecological study of the Canal Road, undertaken by the WWF-Pakistan, revealed that Nespak’s EIA had failed to properly appreciate the environmental degradation the project would entail. It stated that the project remained dormant since 2007 until last month, when the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) published advertisements in major newspapers notifying the public of the “positive impacts” of the project.
This was the first time the LDA, under the Shahbaz Sharif government, had indicated its desire to undertake a project originally proposed by the Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi government.
The court of Justice Hamid Ali Shah issued notice on the stay application, seeking reply from the Punjab government, LDA and EPA, and ordered the case be fixed for arguments after summer vacations in the LHC.
THE Lahore High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Punjab government on an application, filed by the WWF-Pakistan, Lahore Bachao Tehreek and others, seeking stay against the proposed Canal Road widening project.
The WWF-Pakistan, Lahore Bachao Tehreek and 13 other co-petitioners, including the Pakistan Environmental Lawyers Association, Lahore Conservation Society, Institute of Architects of Pakistan and Shehri-CBE, had filed a writ petition challenging the approval, granted by the Environment Protection Agency, Punjab, to the Environment Impact Assessment of the Canal Road widening project prepared by the National Engineering Service Pakistan (Nespak).
The project proponent was the Traffic Engineering and Transportation Planning Agency (Tepa) and the project involved the widening of the Lahore Canal Road from Dharampura to Thokar Niaz Beg.
The Lahore Bachao Tehreek pointed out that the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) had failed to take alternative routes or transport options into consideration. Besides, it neither properly undertook a study of the noise pollution an extra lane would contribute to nor had it issued any recommendations to deal with severance, health and safety issues related to the construction of a highway in a city.
The Tehreek said that an EIA review and ecological study of the Canal Road, undertaken by the WWF-Pakistan, revealed that Nespak’s EIA had failed to properly appreciate the environmental degradation the project would entail. It stated that the project remained dormant since 2007 until last month, when the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) published advertisements in major newspapers notifying the public of the “positive impacts” of the project.
This was the first time the LDA, under the Shahbaz Sharif government, had indicated its desire to undertake a project originally proposed by the Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi government.
The court of Justice Hamid Ali Shah issued notice on the stay application, seeking reply from the Punjab government, LDA and EPA, and ordered the case be fixed for arguments after summer vacations in the LHC.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Save the Canal, Save the City
The Lahore Canal should be given back to the people as a clean waterway and public park
By Imrana Tiwana
Tense, dense, bursting at the seams, polluted, hazy, uncontrolled, noisy, incredibly nerve wracking, haphazard and delirious... Lahore today is one of the most polluted cities in the country.
The canal is Lahore's unique and most important evironmental asset. The canal road widening project proposed by the government must be stopped immediately. It aims to add two 18 foot lanes on either side each with six foot shoulders. This spells nothing but disaster as the central city area, heavily overburdened, needs to be 'de-congested'. Traffic has to be dispersed and moved out towards the 'emerging Lahore'. But the Canal Road is not the main artery of Lahore, it is just a cross connector.
Alternate routes already exist. As Multan Road is widened and freed of encroachments, there will be a major traffic dispersement. With the Ring Road coming in and seeing the direction of emerging Lahore, the Canal Road will be by-passed altogether. Access to the motorway will be further distributed through widening and clearing of Chowk Yateem Khana exit and Saggian Bridge. G.T Road connects to the Ravi Bridge, and they all join the Ring Road, to take traffic outwards, or inwards. This will take all the current pressure off the Canal Road.
By clearing encroachments from several major roads, which are already underway, critically required dispersion of traffic will take place and the link roads of the city will begin to be used effectively as a network. Crucial to the working of the above is an 'integrated strategy' for road and public transport management.
From Thokar Niaz Beg, to beyond Jallo Park, there are over 300 acres of green belt in the form of public parkland. There are thousands of old trees and shrubs along this length, making a green canopy of shade for all, mostly pedestrians and those on cycle and motorcycle. This area has a unique and special habitat of birds, animals, flora and fauna. The tragedy is that untreated sewage and industrial waste is being dumped into the Canal from over 90 points, reducing it to a glorified dump.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) reports that the main cause of increasing air pollution in Lahore is an increase in vehicular traffic, fast deforestation and rapid urbanisation. How then has the EPA given an NoC for the Canal road widening project? The citizens rejected the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) done by Nespak at the 'Public Hearing' held two years ago (the first 'real' public hearing). The EIA was also in violation of the PEPA Act 1977. The EIA itself states that the impacts of road widening will cause irreversible damage to the environment; the only advantage it states is reduction in commuting time. Three years ago, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of this issue and questioned the Punjab Government.
The WWF-Pakistan had conducted its own EIA of the Canal Road widening project, and found that the EIA approved by the Environment Protection Agency, Punjab was fatally flawed. The policy to widen the Canal road was actually against the Environment Policy 2005. "The Policy favours public transport, but in the past decade, no money has been invested in public transport." This project threatens to irreversibly damage the urban fabric and identity of the 'City of Gardens'.
Good governance is 'citizen participatory governance', the citizens of Lahore and the government should partner on creating a world class model of sustainable urbanization with an ecological footprint.
It is imperative that a 'Canal Restoration Project' be started forthwith. That the city of gardens be revitalised through a programme of 'Green Corridor Linkages', creating an accessible green pedestrian network. A 'Green Belt Master plan' must be developed to create a network of green zones and open spaces throughout the city, foreseeing the conservation of whole tracts of land and space as 'Ecologically Valuable Zones' kept free of buildings. Special zoning ordinances, public land purchases, designation of protected zones under 'Nature Conservation' and 'Special Green Zone' legislation should be put into place to ensure the continued existence of these zones.
The Lahore Canal should be given back to the people as a clean waterway and public park; this will act as the 'glue' that brings together people of all classes and ages. Stopping the Canal road widening project is the greatest gift the Punjab Government can give to the teeming millions of Lahore.
The writer, an architect and convener of the Lahore Bachao Tehreek, can be reached at itiwana@yahoo.com
(As published in The News of Sunday, Shehr, 9 August 2009)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)