ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NEW PARADIGM TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (A CASE STUDY OF LAHORE)

The environmental scenario of City of Gardens is quite haze due to the presence of relentless perils. High density livings; due to break down of community and mass exodus of villagers from rural hinterland to urban centres, rural urban inequalities, presence of industry, increased car ownership trend and commercial activity at core of city are driving forces behind environmental degradation in metropolitan area of Lahore. These forces put lives of urbanites at risk and resultantly 1250 people are dying annually because of air pollution in the city of Lahore. Intolerable congestion, squatter development, growth of motorized vehicles and process of reconstruction to accommodate more and more commercial activity are common consequences of urban densification in Lahore. Sustainable solution of situation cannot be achieved without identification and address of foremost cause of environmental degradation. In this connection null hypotheses are made and testified. The paper highlights methodology of quantifying environmental degradation and to probe into its tended relations with other parameters. Based on the results different measures to reduce environmental degradation are recommended.