PESHAWAR: The Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Environmental Monitoring Report (EMR) has declared unsatisfactory the project’s environmental, healthcare and safety compliance during the first two months ending on Dec 31, 2017, according to a report by a private media outlet.
The report noted that the contractor had been strongly advised to remove all deficiencies and gaps in the implementation arrangements for the environmental, health and safety requirements.
The report said keeping in view the fact that the project was being executed in a highly-urbanised environment, it was expected that the environmental issues related to dust emissions and excavated material would continue to arise.
The report identified a high level of dust, traffic congestion and need of taking health, safety and environment (HSE) related measures along the BRT corridor and noted the corrective measures had been taken to address them.
It included a detailed independent environmental monitoring through a third-party laboratory to check air quality, noise, drinking water and in-house environmental monitoring through handheld devices at specific locations along the corridor.
The report said since most of the material generated from the Reach-II corridor was earthen material, which was being generated due to the excessive piling activities.
The report said major sources of dust production along the BRT Corridor included the movement of traffic at unpaved sections of the corridor, haulage of earth material, the presence of dry excavated material at the roadsides, and construction machinery’s movement at the drainage work construction areas along the corridor.
The environmental inspection checklists contained in the annexure for Reach-I said the stored material or spoil heaps could contribute to dust production.
The checklists also pointed out that there were no proper drainage and sewerage system for stormwater; waste bins were not available at sites inadequate number. They also pointed out spillage of oil and other hazardous chemicals on the soft ground.
The checklists also mentioned similar omission for construction sites in all three reaches, batching plants, residential camps and workshops.