| May 04, 2008 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1429 |
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Let the people be heard
WHICH man possessing a sane and trained mind could have one iota of an objection to his country having an independent judiciary? Which man wishing to abide by the law as laid down by the lawmakers of his land (as ‘storto’ as some of them may be) would oppose an independent judiciary?
President General Pervez Musharraf has done some good for Pakistan. For the first seven years of his eight years in power he was considered to be the best of the worst lot. He then made the fatal mistake of believing that he was beloved by all except a few of his countrymen. And now, history will be loathe to forgive him for his attacks on the judiciary of his country in 2007 and perhaps, letting time tell, also for his then handing over his country to the three capos who now hold sway.
Concentrating on the jugular, we must ask what exactly are the ‘deals,’ the dishonourable agreements made by dishonourable men and agreed to with and among the four camps, either written or verbally delivered? We must ask the old question : Qui bono? Who wishes to restore which judges and for what selfish or expedient reason under what circumstances (apart from the never-to-be-forgotten larger national interest)? Who apprehends what, and what is the nature of the trust between the compatriots?
By the grace of providence, all is not lost, there are those who sit on the benches in our superior courts who dispense justice in terms of the bludgeoned and mangled Constitution as it now stands. That they choose to do so must go to their credit, the state of the judiciary in this country being what it has been and now is. One case in point. Last Monday, April 28, Constitutional Petition D-757/08 was heard by a division bench of the Sindh High Court comprising Mrs Justice Qaiser Iqbal and Mr Justice Syed Mehmood Alam Rizvi. Five citizens of Karachi, all residents of Khayaban-i-Hafiz (in the vicinity of the Total petrol station), filed a petition against eight respondents, including the Environmental Protection Council, the Defence Housing Authority and the Clifton Cantonment Board, seeking relief. Their problem is the flyover now being constructed along the main Gizri Road by the DHA and the CCB.
It is a mandatory requirement pursuant to the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, (section 12), that no construction may commence without initial environment assessments, and, where the project is likely to cause an adverse environment impact (as indeed it would to the petitioners), an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). Furthermore, sub-section (3) of section 12 of the act requires that “Every review of an environment impact assessment shall be carried out with public participation.”
No public notice was published by any of the respondents concerned, nor was there any environmental impact assessment conducted nor was there any environment assessment as mandated by law.
Also absent from the project was the mandatory public notice inviting objections from those affected by the project — and the objections would have been myriad. The purpose of the hearing is clear — to allow the public to suggest ways to adjust the project so as to achieve a broad consensus on the project and to give alternatives, in this case an underpass which would seem to be much more prudent for all sections of society.
The commercialised section of the main Gizri Road, up to the Total petrol station, has been dug down to a depth of approximately 20 feet. With no EIA, carried out with public participation, it is not known how adversely the digging will affect the foundations and the safety of the houses of the petitioners.
The construction of the flyover mandated by the DHA and CCB to serve the traffic load expected from all their fancy anti-environment so-called ‘development’ schemes will also adversely affect the value of the properties of the petitioners. Their purely residential area will be blighted by commercialism which will decrease the value of their residential properties.
All in all, it is an unhappy scheme, and if the flyover can be terminated at the Total petrol pump the affected citizens will at least be spared some of the threatened inconvenience to their lives and damage to their homes.
The petition was taken up, the people were heard and heeded, and the good judges handed down the following order : “...Granted subject to all just exceptions. It is inter alia contended that the respondent No.8 [Nespak Private Limited] was awarded the task of construction of an overhead bridge from the Submarine Chowrangi to Khayaban-e-Tanzeem, over the main Gizri Road, DHA Phase V, Karachi. It is urged that the petitioners have been deprived of their legitimate right of being protected from nuisance, pollution and other natural corollaries of commercialisation by the respondent No.5 [Defence Housing Authority] in utter violation of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act 1997, that construction of a flyover bridge would hamper the rights of the petitioners, more particularly right to life has been put into jeopardy on account of the violation of Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations 2002. The contentions raised require consideration. Issue pre-admission notice to the respondents for 9.5.2008.
“Notice as above. Till then respondents are restrained from carrying on further construction of the overhead bridge on main Gizri Road beyond the Total petrol pump on Khayaban-i-Hafiz, Gizri, till the next date of hearing.”
The lawyer representing the citizens is young Omar Soomro. We must wish him continued success.
During the Musharraf years, the DHA and the cantonment boards have by and large got away with murder when it comes to the environment and its destruction and degradation.
Currently, there are five projects being undertaken by the DHA and the Clifton Cantonment Board which are prima facie illegal — the DHA Waterfront Project, the DHA Cogen Desalination Plant, the reclamation of approximately 73 acres of land with the help of Dubai-based Emaar for the creation of Canyon Crescent, and the Storm Water Drain Project in the DHA. A couple of these projects are needed, the others are a disastrous waste of taxpayers’ money. All should involve the public that is directly affected by these decisions. All require an EIA and a hearing. It seems that with the DHA and the CCB, old habits die hard.
I am informed that in Balochistan, Mr Justice Kholi sitting as chairman of the Balochistan Environmental Tribunal, is taking up the EIA issue for that province. We need to find someone appropriate in Sindh to emulate him.
arfc@cyber.net.pk
