Environmental activists and members of the Lahore Bachao Tehreek fighting their case against the Lahore Canal Widening Project pleaded to a full bench of the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday that trees were a heritage for future generations and felling at the canal would cause irreparable loss to the city’s environment.
The SC bench was hearing the case suo moto on petitions moved against the felling of trees on the Lahore Canal banks to widen around three and a half kilometres of the road at various points. After hearing arguments of activists of the Lahore Bachao Tehreek and other environmental organisations, the full bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary adjourned the matter until August 15.
The SC will decide on the case after hearing arguments of senior lawyer and environmentalist Dr Pervez Hassan who had prepared a report on the project after consulting all stakeholders including the Punjab government. The report that had already been presented to the court by Hassan said the old and historic trees not only added to the beauty of the city but also kept the city’s environment clean and healthy.
It said the trees were a national heritage and needed to be preserved and maintained. National College of Arts students, petitioners, Lahore Conservation Society and Shajar Dost members and others including Faryal Gohar, Prof Dr Iftikhar Anwar and Ali Habib praised Hassan’s idea of declaring the trees national heritage and opposed the widening.
However other activists including lawyers and civilians, pleading their case themselves in court, opposed part of Hassan’s report saying the growing needs of the city might give an exception to the felling of trees. Supporting the Lahore Canal Widening Project, a member on the bench Justice Mian Saqib Nisar referred to the traffic load on the canal road that often resulted in hours-long traffic jams causing inconvenience to the public.
As Hassan was not present in court on Thursday to explain certain unclear points mentioned in his report, the court adjourned further hearing of the case until Monday.
