A total of eight residential units, both concrete and mud houses, are required to be demolished to clear the land earmarked for building the 39-kilometre-long Malir Expressway in
Karachi.Sindh Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Ismail Rahoo came to know this on Friday as he received in his office a briefing on the recent issuance of a no-objection certificate by the provincial environmental protection agency for building the Malir Expressway.
Director-General Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) Naeem Mughal gave the briefing. The additional chief secretary of the Sindh government’s Environment Department, Muhammad Hassan Iqbal, was also present on the occasion.The minister expressed satisfaction that all due formalities had been completed to issue the clearance certificate by Sepa for the project.
He said the mode of sustainable development should be adopted for ensuring that the progress of the province should not harm the environment.The Sepa chief informed the minister said that water from the local sources wouldn’t be drawn for the building of the Malir Expressway, as the water tanker service would be utilised for the purpose.He said the proposed expressway would be used by 19,000 to 33,000 motor vehicles on a daily basis, and resultantly vehicular congestion on the nearby roads would be eased.
He said that apart from demolishing eight houses, no other existing construction would be affected due to the project.The provincial departments of revenue, social welfare, fisheries, local government, health, culture, agriculture and works & services were consulted while reviewing the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report of the project.
Other agencies consulted for the purpose included Iqra University, Naval Provost at the PNS Mehran, National Transmission and Dispatch Company, Sui Southern Gas Company, Wildlife Department, Karachi Water & Sewerage Board, and Provincial Disaster Management Authority.The Sepa chief said that his agency had received the EIA report of the project on March 9, 2022.
The proposed site of the project was visited on March 24, a committee comprising relevant experts reviewed the report on April 1, and Sepa issued the NOC to build the project on April 6.
The minister appreciated the working of Sepa and asked it to continue working with the same zeal and commitment to make sure that progress in the province should happen through a process of sustainable development with least damage to the environment.
He also asked the Sepa officials to establish special camps nearby the industrial units and educational institutions in Karachi and other areas of Sindh to make sure that the people should remain fully aware of the harmful effects of heatwaves on their health.
