EPA issues approvals to four public sector development projects after weeks’ hiatus

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has issued formal approvals to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Reports of four public sector development projects after a hiatus.

The approvals were accorded after a meticulous review of the initial environmental examination (IEE) reports after the EIA Reports were submitted by the project proponents to the EPA which was a mandatory procedure as per the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA 1997) and also under the review of the IEE and EIA Regulations, 2000.

An EPA official told APP that the approvals were pending for more than two weeks at the higher forum of the Agency seeking its green signal as no development project could be initiated without the EPA’s approval to the EIA and IEE of the project.

The projects included the construction of the Academic Block at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University at PIMS Hospital, the establishment of a model panagah by Pak-PWD at Tarnol, model panagah at Park Road, Taramri Chowk, Tarlai and the construction of Aiwan-e-Sayyahat (Tourism Complex) at Sector F-5/1.

However, the official procedure for the approval of the IEE Reports was different as compared to that of EIA Reports as a formal public hearing was held in the latter’s case and all stakeholders including media, civil society, local community, project proponents, and implementing partners used to attend which was followed by a robust question and answer session, the EPA official said.

The EPA, he said, was regularly holding public hearings of EIA Reports to ensure stakeholder engagement before the commencement of any development project to ensure the preservation of the pristine ecology and nature of the Federal Capital.

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