Federal Minister for Climate Change Mushahidullah Khan on Friday expressed serious concern over ineffective role of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA) in tackling escalating levels of environmental degradation, water and air pollution, soaring encroachment of public places, green belts and rainwater drains.
He directed CDA and PEPA to play their due part in a more effective manner address the pressing environmental issues and take serious actions against those involved in encroachment.
“No one can dare encroach upon single inch of land in the capital city and contaminate the environment without involvement of corrupt elements in these government organisations, which have failed to protect and maintain beauty, cleanliness and greenery of the capital city,” Mushahidullah Khan bemoaned.
He expressed these views during his meeting with a four-member delegation of the Green Force, a non-government organization, advocating basic environmental rights of the isolates, conservation and protection of environment and natural resources of the capital city.
The delegation led by Dr Dushka Hussain Syed urged the minister to play his part in checking environmental degradation in the city by pushing CDA and PEPA and making officials in these government organisations accountable for their roles and duties.
The Green Force delegation expressed serious concern with the minister over destruction of the green areas of the capital city, conversion of green belts into parking, commercial and residential areas, destruction of the Margallah Hills National Park (MHNP) through stone-crushing and commercial developments, damaging of forested areas around the Rawal Lake, which has resulted in the pollution of the Rawal Dam, the conversion of the federal city’s rainwater streams into sewage drains and destruction of the Shakar Parian area through unbridled concretization, etc.
Mushahidullah Khan assured them of his full support in this regard and said, “I would leave no stone unturned in conserving and protecting Islamabad’s natural environment, controlling encroachment of public places, green belts and soaring tree-cutting.
He told the delegation that he has already warned the CDA of action in case of failure to get the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the expansion project of Islamabad Expressway before proceeding further on the initiative. No one was against the development but it should never come at the cost of environment, he stressed.
He highlighted, “Though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has initiated the Islamabad Expansion project for the residents of the capital city, it never means that he wants CDA to carry out the project at the cost of the environment. In addition, CDA must not forget that environmental project is at the heart of PML-N’s political manifesto.
However, no one from the part can put up with the environmental degradation for paving the way for development projects in the capital city or any part of the country.”
Earlier, the minister welcomed any idea or support role, if any, by the Green Force in making the capital city sustainable, clean, green and liveable.
Federal Secretary for Climate Change, Arif Ahmed Khan, Director General for Climate Change and Environment Irfan Tariq were also present in the meetig, who extended various suggestions for dealing with environmental issues faced by the capital city.
