ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Monday deputed Pervaiz Hassan, an eminent lawyer, as a mediator to settle the issue of widening of Canal Road , Lahore and asked him to submit the report within one month. A four-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was hearing a suo motu case on chopping of trees in the provincial metropolis in order to widen Canal Road.
Dr Pervaiz Hassan volunteered himself to settle the matter by offering different options. The court said Dr Hassan will be free to take help from any relevant person. The court observed that the local government has so many options to widen the road without cutting the trees. The chief justice observed that cutting of trees would mar the beauty of Canal Road, adding that the authorities in Malaysia and Indonesia have constructed high-rise buildings without disturbing the environment.
The Punjab government has a plan to widen the road on both sides of the Lahore Canal, from Thokar Niaz Baig to Dharampura, as a solution for the congestion on the canal road because of the rapidly increasing automobile population.
