reasons to oppose the commercialization of Saadi

As you know the struggle is on to resist the commercialization of Khayabane Saadi.  The parents who protested energetically yesterday were opposed to a tower being constructed next to the Karachi grammar School.

If you are following this action, and want to know whether or not you should be outraged, here is a list of concerns for you:

Anyone who might cause an adverse effect to the environment is required to first conduct an EIA or an environmental impact assessment. The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) did not conduct one, and zoned Khayabane Saadi from residential to commercial in June 2005 in plain violation of the law.  This is not simply a procedural violation that can be corrected easily.  An EIA facilitates the very decision of whether an area should be commercialized.  Its purpose is to consider all detrimental effects on the surrounding communities and the environment.  Since such an assessment was not done the very commercialization road on which the odious (commercial)  tower is to be built is on shaky ground. (no pun)

Noman Castello (NC), the builders of this office tower on Saadi, hired consultants who did a bogus EIA on their proposed project.  This EIA is an eye opener and a must read.  The more you read it the more you will see how terrible this project really is, and how it proposes to change the contours of this neighbourhood to a hostile public space that represents commercial interests and ignores the health and safety of communities -and is a slap in the face of environmental concerns.

This project represents the ugly trend of rapacious builders all over Karachi who are bypassing laws and building ethics for profit.  They are only interested in the bottom line, and consider EIAs a pure formality, instead of a genuine probing into adverse effects.  Here are a few examples of how this EIA, a shoddily put together document, attempts to evade all issues.

The  EIA states that the tower will result in an increased burden on sewerage lines.  But nothing has been done in terms of stepping up current capacity.  If the public sewer can't cope, the EIA asserts, "all sewage shall be disposed of after appropriate treatment...and discharged safely into a soak pit as temporary measure till such time as a sewerage system is laid out."   In other words, the school will be surrounded by a stinking nala, possibly open?

The EIA claims that the Karachi Electric Supply company (KESC) has indicated that it will provide the extra power needed for the towers.  So the builders do not anticipate a burden on existing infrastructure.  The report cites to a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) from KESC, but does not supply it.  The EIA is 150 pages long.  It would not hurt to add a one page copy of the NOC in the appendix. 

300,000 bags of cement -- sand, gravel will be used in the construction.  In addition to dust, diesel fume emissions, the whole area will be health disaster over the course of a three and a half year construction period.   Children as young as 3 years will be exposed to an enhanced risk of respiratory diseases, and those with such disorders will probably suffer the most.  Parents of children with such concerns should be specially alarmed, and should seek professional medical advice to voice up their resistance.

There will be an excavation that will affect the integrity of surrounding structures, and be dangerous if ever unsecured.  Drains may be blocked with extra solid waste resulting from the construction, and the report states plainly that there will be flooding in monsoon seasons.

They have allotted seven floors for parking; but who know if these will actually be put in.  There are an allotted 104 parking spots, but there is no explanation whether these are an adequate number for a tower like this. 




Any of the mitigation measures can be abandoned by the builders.  They are not on honor code to carry these out.  These mitigatory measures are mere statements of intention, and do not mean the builder will follow through, unless of course, the regulatory system shines through and one of the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA, FEPA, PEPA) enforces these.  


Also, plans for waste management and traffic will be developed, states the report.  Who knows who will develop these plans, who will implement them, and who will police the implementation?

The privacy and security of the young pupils will be severely compromised.  With increased traffic around the area, and cameras placed on external entrances of the tower, anyone could be in a position to record everything that goes on in the school's premises.   

That all parts of the city, and all schools, are vulnerable to attacks does not mean we do not oppose one particular commercialization which elevates the security risk for a certain community, when we can --and when the law accords us the right to do so.  People with children in the school and residents of the area are naturally the most obvious aggrieved parties - but by no means does this represent an elitist effort or an exceptional group.  

All people should be united against all commercialization efforts that would be a security risk for children and a nuisance.  Wrongful commercialization must be opposed in any neighbourhood or school.

Yes, KGS, carries with it a distinct reputation of being a resourceful and privileged institution, and perhaps at an increased risk of security violations.  But this does not undermine the legitimacy of the concerns - the school is an evolving institution, and instills civic values. 

Concerns for increased traffic are dismissed summarily.  

In fact that is the tenor of this EIA document.  


Dismiss all concerns summarily.  Develop city unethically.  Disregard the concerns of the people.