Ravi Riverfront project construction: LHC rejects Punjab govt’s plea for withdrawing stay, extends it till April 1

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court turned down the request of the Punjab government to recall the stay order regarding construction work and acquisition of agricultural land for Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project.

Justice Shahid Karim was hearing several identical petitions challenging the acquisition of land for the project. As the hearing commenced Thursday, a provincial law officer requested the court to withdraw the stay order pertaining to construction work on the project unless environmental assessment was done and approved by the competent authorities. However, the court rejected his plea and extended the stay order till April 1.

Representing a public interest petition, advocate Sheraz Zaka argued before the court that the acquisition laws had been blatantly violated by the government as farmers were being deprived of their precious land. The counsel said compulsory acquisition would deprive the farmers of their agricultural land and could pose food security threats in future.

He pointed out that a vast chunk of agricultural land being converted for the benefit of property developers was against the convention of biological diversity that the government of Pakistan also ratified. Justice Karim observed that the Punjab government was not serious in complying with environmental laws.

The judge directed the government to justify public purpose in the Ravi Urban Development project after the lawyer pointed out that the government had not issued any notification to disclose any public purpose of the project which it was supposed to do under Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act 1890.

He pointed out that in all other interconnected petitions, the Lahore High Court had already stayed work on the project with a direction to the provincial government to appoint an international consultant to prepare the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the project.

Sheraz Zaka argued that Lahore has become the second most polluted city of the world and this project without environmental impact assessment report would further endanger Lahore as well. The court will resume hearing on April 1.

In a related case, the court showed resentment over non-submission of reply by the Lahore Waste Management Company regarding dumping of garbage. The judge observed that LWMC negligence was further deepening the health crisis as people are likely to get sick due to heaps of garbage lying in open spaces. Justice Karim directed the Punjab government to submit a report by April 1.