ISLAMABAD: The contractors have started work on the first portion of the metro bus project in Islamabad, even before the public hearing of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The digging has commenced at the right side of the Ninth Avenue, between I. J. Principal road and Peshawar Mor.

The EIA, which is being conducted by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), will be held on Saturday, May 3 in the federal capital. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) officials say that the EIA is not a serious issue for the metro bus project.

The project manager, Zahid Saeed, said it was alright to initiate the work, as the project shall not harm the environment.

“The contractors are not chopping the trees, rather the CDA is uprooting the entire trees for re-plantation at another location,” he added.

Similarly, an official of CDA said that the contractors were not violating the environmental laws of the federal capital, as the said area was not a green belt; instead it had been earmarked for road expansion.

“Since there is not violation, it is clear that the EIA report would not be against the project,” he said.

However, the on-ground reality is completely different as trees are being thrashed and severed in the presence of the CDA staff.