“The Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project will kill the river”, said Kamil Khan Mumtaz – of the River Ravi Commission (RRC). Members of the RRC had a meeting on Thursday to deliberate various options to overcome challenges for the river’s ecology likely to be caused by the RRUDP.
Mumtaz suggested the commission move the court for a stay order against the project. Commission members representing various from government departments, however, suggested they approach the Lahore Development Authority first. The LDA is executing the RRUDP.
Environment Protection Department Secretary Anwar Rasheed said the LDA might have a plan to treat water as a part of the urban development project in the area, and should be consulted. Environment Protection Agency Director General Farooq Hameed also suggested that the commission consider LDA’s version before taking action.
RRC Chairman Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik said they would have to be very aggressive right away. He said he was against all urban development projects on the Ravi.
Advocate Ahmed Rafay Alam, the commission’s secretary, said that the Planning and Development Department’s chairman had informed him in a meeting that due to the RRUDP, a bioremediation plant proposed earlier would not be feasible. He said that when he asked for details, the chairman gave him a three-page brief.
Alam said the secretary said alternative places could be explored for the project but a budget for it would be available next year at the earliest.
WASA Managing Director Dr Javed said the agency had prepared a Rs50 million PC-1 (the project digest) for a bioremediation project and sent it to the commissioner. He said there was no place for it in Lahore but it could be installed in Nankana Sahib or Sheikhupura. Javed gave a presentation on the proposal but some participants said it would be beyond the mandate of the commission, which was only concerned with Lahore.
WWF Director General Ali Habib suggested that the court be approached to stop urban development around the river. He said the commission should seek a ban on RRUDP and all similar projects.
It was decided in the end that an LDA representative be asked to give a presentation on the RRUDP before the commission devises its strategy. Alam said the LDA would be contacted next week.
The LHC’s Green Bench had formed the River Ravi Commission on March 1, 2013 on Kamil Khan Mumtaz’s petition. The commission had submitted a report to the court recommending that Ravi’s water be treated using a constructed wetlands model. According to the commission’s recommendation, WASA would allocate 50 acres of land at Babu Sabu for a demonstration constructed wetlands with a discharge capacity of about 10 cusecs at a cost of Rs50 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2014.