LAHORE: Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) spokesman Sheikh Muhammad Imran has said that the Environment Protection Department (EPD) has already been requested to issue NOC for Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project.
“The boundaries of the project ware are currently being demarcated. Once the boundaries are finalized, an environmental assessment report will be submitted for the area included in the project. There was no logic or justification in submitting a report without setting project boundaries,” he said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
He further said that no project could be initiated without carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). “Prepared by the Singapore-based company Mine Heart, which had prepared the feasibility report of the project, the EIA report of the project had already been there,” he added.
Referring to the recent orders issued by the Lahore High Court to stop work on the project, Imran said that the said petition was not about the Ravi Urban Development Project only but also was about the overall protection of the environment. “The Honourble Court had ordered that “since the process for grant of EIA is underway, it is directed that no work shall be commenced at the site by RUDA until the approvals are granted by the Environmental Protection Department regarding EIA of the said project.”
According to him, the basic purpose of this project was the protection and up-gradation of the environment. The project had been conceived for improving the endangered ecology of the river and stopping bio-degradation of the environment besides conserving water for meeting water and food requirements of future generations. More than 6 million saplings will be planted in the new city and 10,000 acres of land will be allocated for a forest orchard. There are two large forests, Jhook Reserve Forest and Shahdara Reserve Forest, in the project area of which 7,000 acres of land is still vacant. Eight to 10 thousand trees per acre will be planted on this land. Urban farms will be introduced to promote agriculture in this city.
“The project would be executed in three phases. In the first phase, 28 feet high walls will be constructed on both sides of the river besides constructing three barrages. A 46-km long lake will be established where water will be saved from being wasted; this water would then be used for agriculture purposes. The construction of this lake would improve the underground water level in Lahore. Moreover, seven water treatment plants will be installed under this project, which will daily treat 836 cusecs of sewage water and supply it to the river,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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