SC declares Lahore Canal green belts a ‘public trust’

The Supreme Court (SC) declared the Bambawali-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) canal and the Canal Bank Road green belt from Jallo Park till Thokar Niaz Beg a Public Trust.
On Thursday, a two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar announcing the reserved verdict on the suo motu case and petitions challenging the Lahore Canal Bank Road Widening Project (LCBRWP) which required the felling of trees.
PA must pass Act: The judgment had the green belts shall be treated as Heritage Urban Park and the respondent provincial government must pass an Act through the Punjab Assembly to declare them a Public Trust.
The 61-page verdict authored by Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani ruled that the Canal Bank road shall be widened on both sides in accordance with the Mediation Committees recommendations. It said the existing underpasses will also be modified as per committee recommendations. It also said junctions along the Canal Bank would be re-engineering and service roads improved as per committee recommendations.
Ensure minimum damage: The SC, also, ordered the government to implement a proper plan to manage traffic and improve the public transport system. It said the Mediation Committee’s report will be implemented by the provincial government. It said the government and TEPA will ensure minimum damage to the green belt and replace each cut tree with four trees of height six-seven feet. It obliged the government to notify the commencement and completion of the replacement through press releases to the general public and send copies be sent to the Supreme Court Registrar for court record.
Free from pollution: It ordered steps be taken to ensure the canal be kept free of pollution, including making polluting the canal a penal offence. It held the Punjab Chief Secretary responsible to prepare the action plan via the department concerned and submit a report to the SC Registrar within six weeks of receiving this judgment.
The SC judgment notes in the concluding paragraph, “since the Mediation Committee report addresses the petitioners concerns and has been accepted by the provincial government, the petition is allowed in terms of the Mediation Committee report. The petition is dismissed in so far as it challenges the widening of the Canal Bank Road.”
All stakeholders happy: Lahore
Ali Tahir

The Supreme Court has finally concluded the clash on the widening of the Canal Bank Road, satisfying all stakeholders as people of all walks of life appreciated the court’s well-studied decision. After looking in the case extensively, the apex court issued a 63-page decision. The Supreme Court had ordered the widening of the canal road conditionally, keeping all environmental factors as priority to the extension of the road. The canal will be widened at three points, and 3.5 km of the road where bottlenecks are formed, would be widened. But the court made it a mandatory condition that for every tree chopped-off during the widening process, four new trees would be planted along the canal sides, especially in areas going through the extension process. The court also declared the Lahore Canal, starting from Jallo to Thokar, as a ‘Heritage Park’, recognizing the importance of the canal with the historical city. Now the green belts along the sides of the canal have been converted into a Public Trust, elevating the importance, and strengthening the presence, of the canal in the provincial capital. The court acknowledged the Lahore Bahchao Tehreeq’s movement, which was opposed to the widening of the road stating “due to this movement, the citizens of Lahore were empowered to make a critical difference to the future of Lahore”. The SC recognised that “this was a living testimony to a vibrant civil society”. Not only were architects, town planners, and environmentalists pleased by the decision, but routine commuters using the Canal Bank Road also expressed satisfaction at the court’s decision. “The Canal Road needed some rearrangements to accommodate the traffic flow”, said Amna, a student. She said her school was located on the Canal, near the Mall Road underpass, and it took her more than an hour to commute from her home near the Johar Town area, though it was a straight, signal-less road. Asim Ali, a banker appreciated the court’s decision. “I think the widening was needed badly, but I welcome the decision of the court of making the canal a Public Heritage,” he added. LBT members were also satisfied by the courts verdict. LBT convener Imrana Tiwana said the court’s decision was commendable and the LBT recognised the sensitivity of the court towards the environment and Lahore’s heritage. She said LBT was the voice of the citizens of Lahore and would continue to support such endeavours in the future too. “Those trees are decades old; planting four new little trees is not compensation for cutting down a grown up one. The level of carbon dioxide absorbed by a mature tree is more than four little saplings”, said Hina Bhatti a student of PR studying abroad. A poll conducted by Pakistan Today gave almost a hundred percent backing for the Supreme Court’s decision, which was deemed as well-pondered upon, and in the interest of the city.