KARACHI, Dec 9: A Gulf-based firm is flouting the country’s laws as it has floated a project for the development of a commercial district on reclaimed land in the DHA’s Phase-VIII without acquiring the mandatory environmental clearances from the government, it has been learnt.

According to sources associated with the project, the developers have reclaimed about 108 acres of land along the Arabian Sea for establishing, among other facilities, residential and commercial apartments in phases.

“We have a master plan approved by the DHA for the project, which is the first of its kind in the city providing breathtaking sea views from every turn. All legalities, including environmental assessments, have been met and the project has been opened to the public today (Dec 9) for the reservation of residential apartments numbering over 4,000”, a source said in reply to queries.

However, senior government officials in the federal and provincial governments maintained that neither the firm in question nor the DHA had approached them so far or applied for the issuance of any NOCs in regard to the project.

Section 12 of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pepa) review of the IEE/EIA Regulations 2000 requires that every new development project in Pakistan has to be preceded by an initial environmental examination (IEE) or environmental impact assessment (EIA) depending on the size and severity of impact anticipated at the commissioning of the project.

The IEE/EIA mandates the proponent to comply with the government regulations and minimise the negative impact on the environment as far as possible.

After receiving detailed reports prepared from the scientific, micro-environmental, macro-environmental, social and economic points of view, the environmental protection agency concerned holds public hearings and frames a set of environmental management plans and guidelines on mitigation measures for the proponent, if the government agency clears the project submitted to it.

‘Proceedings not necessary’

When contacted, Brig (retd) Javed Ashraf, the DHA’s Director Special Projects, said that the Defence Housing Authority had already got an environmental assessment done through reputed consultants in the case of the waterfront under its jurisdiction, and as such, he did not deem EIA proceedings necessary for the project in question featuring high and mid-rise towers for residential and commercial use.

DHA spokesperson Col (retd) Rafat Naqvi said that the project is being carried out on land given by the DHA and it was understood that it would remain environmentally viable at every stage in the future.

“We have also taken into confidence the stakeholders and acquired clearances for the beach-front activities with the objective that these will, in return, not only bring in some money needed for the authority’s existing infrastructure but would also add value to area”, he said.

However, Pepa’s Director Monitoring Zia-ul-Islam told this reporter that the project in question very much required scrutiny by the government agency before its launching.

‘Proceedings required’

“The EIA proceedings are required to be conducted by the environmental agencies of the government only and such power has not been delegated to any other organisation or land controlling authority in the country”, he said.

The Director-General of the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), Abdul Malik Ghauri, said that the developers of the beach-front project, who, surely, must be aware of international standards and best environmental practices, should have met the EIA formality prior to inviting the public’s participation in the project.

He said that no EIA report has so far been received by Sepa from the proponents of the project, which was a violation of environmental laws.

An environmental expert and former deputy director of Sepa, Shahid Lutfi, said that there were a lot of things which needed to be considered before launching of any development project.

“At a time when the sea is already under threat of environmental degradation, conservationists have expressed concern over the state of the waste disposal system, energy base, drinking water supply and treatment and recycling of water and the overall physical, social and biological environment of projects, particularly when these are in the coastal areas or along the sea-front of cities”, he noted.

He was of the view that the project in question should have gone through the regulatory process and the EIA should have been conducted as per the laws of the country, which, in return, would help generate confidence in the public investors and other stakeholders.

“The project has been planned at a spectacular location and as such, its executers should make sure that the sea-front or sea water is not polluted at any stage”, the environmentalist pointed out.