Environmental assessment: Public hearing held for Peshawar’s BRT

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakthunkhwa government on Thursday succeeded in holding a public hearing for the environmental and social impact assessment of the much-trumpeted Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

The hearing was held at a small hall — having capacity of over 100 people — located at the back of Peshawar’s famous Nishtar Hall.

Although director general of the K-P Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Muhammad Bashir Khan claimed they had placed advertisements in three newspapers regarding the hearing a month ago and circulated letters to government departments for the hearing very few people from media and civil society turned up.
However, civil society activists, environmentalists and people belonging to the field of architecture in Peshawar complained that they did not have any information about the event.

Former chairman department of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar Dr Shafiqur Rehman criticised the government for not properly spreading the word about the hearing.

“Governments arrange such gatherings to merely fulfill legal requirements. Who can remember an event which is published in newspapers a month ago,” he lamented, adding that the government held it as an exercise when they should have invited those who were directly affected by the project.

Adil Zareef, convener Sarhad Conservation Network, told The Express Tribune that the government should hold a proper debate on the environmental and social impacts of the project and address public reservations.

“We have reservation over the project and the government should listen to us,” he said, adding that the government should leave the GT Road (Grand Trunk Road) as it is and find other alternatives for the transport system.

“Sher Shah Suri built the GT Road and had a lot of trees but now it is being destroyed with every project being executed on the road,” he said.

Zareef also said that they had reservations on Malak Saad Shaheed flyover as it affected the historic Bala Hisar fort. “We want protection for cultural and heritage sites,” he said.

EPA Director General Muhammad Bashir Khan, however, claimed that all the seats in the hall were full, adding that he can’t force civil society or media to attend the meeting.

“Legally we have to give advertisements in media 15 days ahead of the public hearing and we gave the advertisements a month ago and we also distributed 100-200 pamphlets about the project,” he said when asked about the thin attendance at the hearing.

Insiders in the meeting said that the hearing started after 11am and it concluded at around 1 pm when the participants went for prayers.

Funds for land acquisition

In another step towards the project, K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak directed the provincial finance department to release funds for the land acquisition of the main terminal of the BRT project.

Khattak directed the departments to release 50 per cent of the Rs2 billion for the land acquisition at Chamkani for the main bus terminal.

He assured that provincial government would provide additional resources if required in the process of land acquisition.

He also directed them to finalise everything as the inaugural ceremony would be held in the third week of August. He was presiding over a meeting on BRT project at the Chief Minister Secretariat in Peshawar.

Source: The Express Tribune