Construction and care

Lahore’s metro-train project is underway, raising several controversies regarding the displacement of people and threat to heritage. More than a dozen people have died in accidents owing to inadequate safety measures around the construction area. Also, complaints of increased air pollution and traffic congestion caused by the project’s construction activities abound.

The metro-train project has been divided into two parts which are being executed by two different bodies – one part relating to the civil works is being executed by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) by taking loans from the Bank of Punjab while the other which is working on the superstructure including rail line, rolling stocks etc will be undertaken by a Chinese contractor.

Nespak prepared the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Punjab approved it. The EIA estimates that after completion the metro train, to be run on electricity, will have positive impacts on the physical environment of the city, especially along its route as it will reduce the number of vehicles running on fossil fuels.

However, the project’s construction phase entails environmental pollution in the construction sites and the adjoining areas. During the last one year, it has caused enormous dust pollution due to digging, excavation and demolition of existing buildings and construction of pillars on the route of the rail line.

A visit to the construction site along G T Road and Multan Road shows entire localities drowned in dust because removal of dirt and sprinkling of water had not been carried out at most places.

The construction company has also set up two concrete mixing plants within the city close in densely populated areas. These plants should have been set up in the suburbs and the concrete-mix should be carried in trucks meant for this purpose, but this not has been done so as to save money.

The environmental impact assessment report stipulates that pollution mitigation measures will be taken during the construction phase but in reality they are not being fully implemented. The money allocated for mitigation measures in the project’s budget seem to exist only on paper.

The people living in the vicinity of the construction site and commuting on this route are paying a heavy price, dealing with respiratory diseases and immense inconvenience. The project’s civil works are scheduled to be completed by the middle of next year. Until then, for the people of the area the construction of the metro rail will remain a nightmare.

A detailed Environmental Management Plan (EMP) has been provided in the EIA, but this pollution mitigation plan is not being fully implemented. This is the weakest area of the project. Unfortunately, EPA Punjab – which is legally responsible for ensuring implementation of the environmental management plan – lacks the capacity to monitor and effectively enforce it.

The EPA needs to institute a high-level committee for regular monitoring of the project during the project’s construction phase so that health and safety hazards to the people are minimised.

The project’s environmental approval has obligated the project proponent to earmark one percent or more than Rs1.7 billion for tree plantation by the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Lahore. In the first place, this is a huge amount for plantation in a stretch of 27 kilometres, which raises doubts of misuse of funds as has been a common practice in such mega projects.

The EPA’s advisory committee has asked the PHA to submit a plan for utilisation of these funds and make the plan public for the sake of transparency. Hopefully the LDA and the contractor will keep their promise on tree plantation unlike the broken promises on mitigating pollution during the construction phase.

Email: adnanadilzaidi@gmail.com