ISLAMABAD:Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) Director Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Ahsan Rafi Kiani on Tuesday said ground water was not an individual enterprise’s property rather a shared community asset that needed to be used in a sustainable manner by the housing scheme authorities.
EIA Director EPA Ahsan Rafi Kiani stated this while chairing the public hearing of Paradise City Housing Scheme participated by representatives of the Paradise City Private Limited, local masses, students, experts and media.
Kiani said all recommendations and queries were noted and minuted officially that would be taken up with the project proponent for inclusion in the EIA Report of their project.
He pointed out that the plantation plan of 3000 plants at the planned 1,900 kanals areas was inconsistent and needed to be revised for a better implementation plan to ensure maximum green cover in the housing society.
He clarified that EIA Report’s public hearing was a legal requirement and was never a guarantee to EIA Report’s approval by the EPA.
Kiani underlined that the covered area of the project was in different pockets whereas due to increased involvement of roads and thoroughfares in pockets, the sewage treatment plant (STP) grid location was unmanageable.
He directed the quarters concerned to take appropriate measures to address all concerns and resubmit the EIA Report.
Environmental Engineer Ali Abdullah gave a detailed presentation on the EIA Report of the project.
He informed that the Paradise City Housing Scheme was sprawling over 1,900 kanals land with 1,470 plots comprising of 46 percent residential and 5 percent commercial plots divided into eight different blocks.
He informed that the water supply for the project would be ensured through ground water extraction whereas a natural lake existing in the project site would be preserved for rainwater harvesting and ground water recharging.
Moreover, he said a complete sewage network with a link to STP was proposed in the project design whereas treated water was to be reused for internal purposes like concrete curing, watering of plants and cleaning of roads.
He informed that proper waste management with segregated bins to separately collect organic and recyclable waste would be placed outside every household.
He added that the Paradise City would have its own by laws whereas a dedicated Miyawaki forest would be established to create a carbon sink in the area.
Mr Abdullah said the society was in negotiations with the Naya Pakistan Housing Authority to develop 444 residential apartments under Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.
Chief Engineer Paradise City Wasif said the total catchment area hydrology report was submitted with calculated parameters to the Agency. “We are harvesting rainwater through the lake which was spreading over 15-18 acres land with 15-18 ft depth while 100 years return storm calculations have also been done,” he added.
Chief Operational Officer Paradise City Colonel (R) Iftikhar said that alternate water sources would be considered and incorporated in the project proposal as second choice for managing water supply.
He said, “All legal formalities are fulfilled by our project team and its the most important feature of our housing society. Its a safe and secure project with competitive completion time of 2-3 years.”