Scenes of chaos at the construction sites of the two underpasses at Jail Road -- one at the opening of Main Boulevard Gulberg and the other at Shadman Chowk -- are the order of the day. Amidst dusty patches of the roads, occupied by heavy cranes on the one hand and scores of traffic wardens on the other, trying to manage the multitude of vehicles according to the diversion plan, most passersby remain utterly confused as to what is going on.

A few days ago, the Lahore High Court (LHC) full bench ordered to stop the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) project of the 7-kilometre long, signal-free corridor from Qartaba Chowk (Jail Road) to Liberty Chowk (Main Boulevard, Gulberg). However, the court’s order to immediately remove all machinery from the construction site is yet to be complied with. The case is now scheduled for further hearing on March 20.

The LHC also restrained the executing company from cutting the trees that fall in the way. Besides, the court took notice of the fact that the government had started the project without getting a mandatory Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) survey approved by the Environment Protection Department (EPD).

Ironically, the LDA has fixed a public hearing of the project on March 16 (tomorrow), days after the project was commenced.

Recently, the LDA approved contracts for two development projects worth Rs1.47 billion. The projects include the construction of the said signal-free corridor which costs Rs1.3 billion, and the improvement of the Southern Bypass Road from Thokar Niaz Beg Chowk to Wapda Town Roundabout (both sides) costing Rs170 million. Work on the first of these projects, assigned to Habib Construction Services after the bidding process, is scheduled to be completed in four months’ time.

Two underpasses and seven signal-free U-turns are also part of the project. The first underpass will be constructed at Shadman Chowk for traffic coming from China Chowk and going to Shadman Market. This will ensure an uninterrupted flow of traffic coming from the Mall Rd towards Shadman and vice versa, says an LDA official.

The second underpass, he says, shall be constructed near Sherpao Bridge for traffic going towards Canal Bridge. Again, the underpass at Siddiq Trade Centre crossing will afford a smooth traffic on Jail Road and Main Boulevard, Gulberg.

The proposed seven signal-free U-turns shall be constructed at Eden Center Chowk, Shadman Chowk, Racecourse Park Chowk, Canal Road, Zafar Ali Road, Fawara Chowk, Main Market Gulberg Chowk and Zahoor Elahi Chowk. The main objective of the project, says the official, is to save the commuters the hassle caused by traffic jams at these junctures.

Additionally, the construction of four pedestrian bridges along the route will cost Rs60.

Following the court move, the Punjab government’s EPD secretary has sought a reply from the EPA authorities to explain his failure to take action against the LDA for starting work on a signal-free corridor without obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the agency.

Starting work on the project is a violation of Section 12 of the Punjab Environment Protection Act 1997. As a a senior official of the EPD puts it, "An EIA report is required to be submitted with the EPA for all public works projects. Construction can be started on projects only after a departmental inquiry and public hearings and finally issuing NOC."

The LHC has directed the authorities to immediately suspend work on the sites till the case is finalised. Secondly, the court has sought an explanation from the EPD secretary for his failure to issue an Environment Protection Order to the constructing authorities to stop the work.

Many residents of the area believe Lahore’s environment is under threat and becoming more polluted because of such ill-designed projects by the Punjab government. The LDA, an official body to develop the provincial metropolis, has built a number of skyscrapers, roads, flyovers and underpasses without inviting any prior public and official debate in the past few years. A recent example is spending huge money on a road which connects Iqbal Town to Canal Road through Punjab University.

"The government is damaging the city by wasting money on useless projects," says Ihtishamuddin, a businessman based in Gulberg. We come out on the roads one day and see the road has been dug for expensive and totally unnecessary projects that don’t care for prior consultations."

He says that there is little or no transparency and accountability.

Ihtishamuddin supports the moot begun by the civil society to save trees and the environment of the city.

Last weekend alone, a number of civil society groups and individuals banded together in protest against the development projects that are damaging the city environment and landscape. The protestors, holding heart-shaped placards saying "Save Lahore" and chanting slogans against the Punjab government, comprised students, children, youth, those locals whose houses had been demolished, non-governmental organisations, human rights activists, and senior citizens.

Imrana Tiwana, the convener of the Lahore Conservation Society, a group that is most active in protecting environment of the city, says more than 90 percent people in the city have no access to transportation facility and that the flyovers and underpasses were being built for a limited number of people only.

She says the government has failed to design a productive public transport system and is spending huge money on such projects for which it should be held accountable.

She calls on the government to focus on better public transport facilities in order to reduce the load of heavy traffic on the city roads.

A coherent strategy can save the city from the havoc being inflicted upon it by the provincial government’s poorly conceived development projects. "We do not want Lahore to become a city that catered to the needs of car owners only," she argues.

Earlier, the LHC also stopped the Punjab government from declaring "emergency acquisition of land" for the planned Elevated Expressway from Gulberg to Motorway (M II). The court termed the land acquisition as illegal after the government failed to establish the urgency. The project was being initiated without any public hearing and debate on the required forums including the Punjab Assembly.

The LHC was responding to more than 120 individual petitions against the project. The court said it would issue guidelines on how the government should proceed on development projects.

The petitions said that the government had declared the project as "urgent" and began demolishing the buildings and houses that lay on the way of the Expressway Project at the cost of Rs27 billion. These also said the government had not explained why the project was being built on an urgent basis.