Islamabad, April 29 (). The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pulled out of the Malir Expressway project in Pakistan. Removed it from my priority list. The media gave this information on Saturday.
In a letter to advocate Abira Ashfaq, the ADB office said the Malir Expressway project is no longer an ADB-assisted project, The News reported on Saturday.
The development came as a victory for the farmers after they lost a petition against the project at the Sindh Environment Protection Tribunal on April 15.
The tribunal had disposed of a petition challenging the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) given by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (CEPA) to the Malir Expressway project.
It allowed the project, but ordered the government to set up a committee to ensure that no environmental damage was caused by the project.
Malir’s indigenous farmers filed a complaint with ADB against the project on September 22, 2022, with the help of Abira, after the lender held an online meeting with the lawyer and others in October, The News reported.
In the same month, an ADB team from the Philippines, along with its resident team from Pakistan, visited Karachi and met Zubair Abro, a lawyer fighting the case against the expressway at the tribunal, Sadya Siddiqui, a researcher, and Salman Baloch, a local resident.
In November, ADB, as part of its accountability mechanism, heard further complaints from Abira and the farmer.
cbt
Follow Niharika Times for all the big news from India and abroad. Like us on Facebook and Twitter . Always visit Niharika Times for latest news.