SC reserves verdict, Canal trees’ fate hangs in the balance

A division bench of the Supreme Court (SC), after hearing arguments from both parties on Monday, reserved judgement on the Lahore Canal Widening Case. SC judges Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the case. During the proceedings, a representative of the Punjab government conceded to implement all recommendations made by a committee headed Dr Pervez Hassan in its report, which proposed preserving trees on either side of the Canal.
The trees, which were described as national heritage in Dr Hasan’s report, had come under threat of being cut down in order widen the main road of the city in 2009. Dr Hassan had also requested the court to remove reservations and objections raised by the petitioners, led by Architect Imrana Tiwana, Prof Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Ali Hassan Hameed of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), Iram Aftab, Punjab University Professor Dr Naumana Amjad and a number of students from the National College of Arts (NCA).
Environmentalist Ali Hassan Hameed, who had also conducted a study of ecological effects from cutting down the trees, said felling of the trees would also threaten species to which the trees are a natural habitat such as frogs and earthworms, which play a big role in protecting the environment. Dr Amjad, a psychologist, highlighted the psychological impact of environmental degradation on humans.
The NCA students, petitioners, Lahore Conservation Society, Shajardost and others including Faryal Gohar, Prof Dr Iftikhar Anwar and Ali Habib appreciated the idea of declaring the trees national heritage and opposed the widening of the road at the cost of the trees and the environment of the city.
The SC, taking suo motu notice of the issue, had restrained the provincial government from going ahead with the project when the media reported that a number of historic and old trees, which were catering to the environmental and ecological well-being of the city besides adding to its beauty, were going to be felled.
Later, the Lahore Bachao Tehreek, the Lahore Conservation Society and Shajardost also joined the proceedings through a petition. The SC bench, then headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had appointed a committee headed by Dr Hassan to prepare a report on how the trees could be preserved and protected in the road-widening project.
The disputed stretch of the road is now only 3.5km-long from Doctors Hospitals to Thokhar Niaz Beg. Initially, the total length of the road marked for the widening project was 14.3km, of which 6.9km has been completed. The disputed stretch is dotted with as many as 642 old trees of which 60 percent are eucalyptus, the felling of which the report had agreed to.
During the course of the hearing, Justice Nisar observed that society could not be put to halt and there must be development in the city, but there must be a balance between development and environmental protection, for which a mechanism needed to be developed. At the same time, he also pointed out the traffic congestion on the Canal and problems and difficulties faced by the commuters.
Senior lawyer Salman Aslam Butt, representing the Punjab government, accepted all recommendations made in Dr Hassan’s report, but requested the court to let the government have enough space on the road to set up bus stops. The court reserved the request for consideration. Environmentalist Ms Iram Aftab highlighted the environmental hazards that would crop up in case the trees in question were chopped down.