Akbar Chowk flyover: LDA asks PHA to uproot, transplant 59 trees.

LAHORE -- In a bid to act upon the conditions imposed by the Environment Protection Department while issuing a no objection certificate (in December), the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has asked the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) to transplant 59 grown trees, aged 5 to 10 years, from around Akbar Chowk and transplant them at other places to start the civil work on the Rs3.10bn flyover/underpass project.

'The total number of the trees planned to be removed in the wake of this project is 59. However, we, while following the SOPs (standard operating procedures) and policy, will get these trees transplanted at other parts of the project area through the PHA that has a proper machine to do this job,' Haroon Saifi, the project director, explained while talking to Dawn on Saturday.

'Hopefully, we will get this work done after vacation of the stay order we hope the court will do on Tuesday when the Lahore chief traffic officer (CTO) will submit a traffic diversion plan that will not cause environmental issues,' he hoped.

Caretaker Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi had laid the foundation stone of the project on Feb 28 and he had directed the LDA to start work as soon as possible, keeping in view the increasing environmental issues due to traffic congestions on the Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, especially at the Akbar Chowk-a major intersection connecting Township, Faisal Town, Model Town and Johar Town.

However, on March 3, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a stay order restricting the LDA from the work on the project on a petition related to environmental issues.

The court was also of the view that the government shouldn't start any new project till completion of the ongoing ones. And, if it is necessary to launch new schemes (major ones especially), the authorities concerned would have to satisfy the court first.

'There would be no loss to the trees planned to be uprooted as the PHA has a specialty to perform such a job. We hope we will be able to start work from Tuesday as the contractor has already mobilised the machinery. A camp office and a concrete plant have also been set up at the project site,' Mr Saifi said.

He said the authority would also ensure plantation of 3,000 trees (6-7 foot height) at the project area and the rest of the places (median line) of the entire...