Abstract

Small settlements in Lahore such as Chungi Amar Sidho, are extremely polluted compared to societies like Bahria Town, DHA, and, other elite societies. These areas have soil, water, air, and even noise pollution. These small settlements have caused severe diseases and infections among the inhabitants of the area. The objective of the paper is to identify the reason behind this injustice. A mixed methodology e.g. qualitative and quantitative approaches have been followed. The data for this paper is collected through survey questionnaires, and interviews with environmentalists and from the manifestos of political parties who contested elections in that area. The environmental injustice theory, marginality within a core theory, and an excerpt from the decolonization theory of Fanon were used in order to assess the results of the study. The paper concludes that these small settlements face environmental injustice because of elite societies. Elite societies need these settlements to use for the labour force and as landfill sites.

Key Words

Environmental Injustice, Environmental Racism, Class, Chungi Amar Sidho, Small Settlements, Pollution, Elite Societies

Introduction

Chungi Amar Sidhu and other small settlements where the working class live are extremely polluted compared to elite societies like Bahria Town, DHA, and other elite societies in Lahore. These areas have soil pollution and water pollution, the water they are using is so polluted that if someone is not used to it can get diarrhoea. The air is not even clean because of the waste, there is always smell and air pollution. Compare to these small towns and settlements the elite societies in Lahore are clean, they have their separate force to take the waste from their doorstep. They have clean water for drinking and even have water for their gardens. The issue of environmental injustice is not only faced by the marginal people in Lahore or Pakistan, but also it is a global issue. Developed countries and underdeveloped countries, both face environmental injustice in their marginal areas. Wigley and Shrader-Frechette (1990) noted that the blacks and other minorities, the poor and working-class living near the waste sites and the factories which produce pollution and toxic chemicals are affected by the pollution more. Even they are not benefiting from those factories (Burger, 2020). 

In Pakistan, the government deals with the issue of the environment just taking the elite and upper-middle-class in mind. The government's recent policy of "Billion Trees" and ban on plastic are examples of that understanding, they are not considering the poor and the underprivileged people. The environmental pollution problems are dominated by the upper and middle class, while the poor and coloured people are affecting more (Eliza Sherpa, Nicole Shepherd, & Janet Vidal, 2014).  

A reasonable number of studies have concluded that ethnic minorities, indigenous persons, people of colour, and low-income communities confront a higher burden of environmental exposure from air, water, and soil pollution associated with industrialization, militarization, and consumer practices. Known variously as environmental racism, environmental inequality, or environmental injustice, this phenomenon has captured a great deal of scholarly attention in recent years" (Pello, 2006). The concept of environmental injustice is also applied to a broad skill, poor, and underdeveloped countries in the world are affected more by the pollution produced by the developed countries. 

The approach towards marginality used in the paper is the one that makes marginality a socially constructed phenomenon. In this approach, the main concentration is on power. There are power dynamics between the centre and the marginal. Where the power holder group considered itself "centre" and as a result all the minorities and people outside of the power holder group are considered marginal or simply "others" (CULLEN, 2000). As Lefebvre noted that marginality is classified based on social class. The people from certain social classes are the core and the others are marginals. "This idea of social marginality, in which marginalization is often based on such characteristics as gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, occupation, or language, may often lead to the spatial marginalization of such groups in enclaves and ghettoes, or the exclusion of marginal groups from privileged social spaces" (CULLEN, 2000). Even in this modern world, nonconsumption of products is becoming a form of deviance, if you are not consuming certain products, you will be considered marginal, the marginal groups are excluded from social spaces like shopping malls, high-class restaurants, and other high-class places.

According to Fanon the colonial relationship between the native and the settlers is a binary structure. It is the settler who created the native community, by that he did not mean that the native did not exist from the start but what he mean is that the existence of settlers depends upon the natives. In this binary structure, the settlers live in the European part of the colony which is very organized and developed while the natives live in "Qasba" and small settlements which are unorganized and underdeveloped. This system of course comes because of the existence of these power dynamics. He further explained that at the end of the colonization, the natives desire to live in that part of the colony and use all kinds of facilities, used by colonizers. This desire caused violent sentiments in the native against the settlers (Fanon 1963). 




The Rationale of the Study

Small settlements have been created by the rich people, however, the people of these small settlements are suffering from all kinds of pollution, which causes severe diseases. This study has been investigated to understand those factors which have compelled them to have to continue construction in the target area.  




Significance of the Study

Understanding the causes of environmental injustice is an important area. The results of this study can help make understand the problem of environmental injustice in these small settlements. Furthermore, this study can help advance the literature on environmental injustice.  




Problem Statement

Small settlements in Lahore such as Chungi Amar Sidho, are extremely polluted compared to societies like Bahria Town, DHA, and other elite societies. These areas have soil, water, air, and even noise pollution. The effects of pollution on the residents have severe diseases and infections. This study is intended to look into the factors that have contributed to the prevalence of environmental injustice. 

Literature Review

Who Faces Environmental Injustice?

Environmental Injustice and Racism

Environmental racism is a concept highlighted in the 1970s and 1980s. Racism and environmental injustice are very closely connected. Settler colonialism is a form of power domination that disturb the relationship between human and the environment. According to (Whyte, 2018), there is a connection between "anti-Indigenous settler colonialism and environmental Injustice". A body of literature indicates that people of colour face a greater risk of environmental and health than other people in their surroundings (Bullard, 1999). A study conducted in southern Louisiana (USA) related to a human health problem indicates that non-white people and mostly Black community people who live near the waste sites are suffering from diseases like respiratory problems, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer (Adeola, 1998). Even at a low level the non-white poor people effects by the environmental injustice in the USA, the lakes, streams, and rivers near the coloured people's neighbourhood becoming polluted. The pollution in the environment disturbs the drinking water source and fishing for the neighbourhood (Bullard, 1960). Laura Pulido takes Los Angeles as a case study and argues that environmental injustice exists because whites have secured cleaner places by moving from industrial areas. Historical urbanization and decentralization are examples of white privilege, which shapes contemporary environmental injustice (Pulido, 2000). 




Environmental Injustice and Class

Climate change and extreme inequality combine and form environmental injustice, which affects poor communities throughout the world (Krakoff, 2019). Income and Race are the two fundamental reasons for environmental injustice all over the world. Liam Downey, argues that both race and class are the basic indicators but in some states of the USA race affects some class matters (Downey 1998). In a survey conducted in Tehran, Iran, the cooling ecosystem service benefited the elite community (Sareh Ghorbani, 2019).  It is not just the pollution that effecting the lower class community but also the deficiency of any improving situation. Susan Cutter selected the four largest landfills in the USA, and the finds were not shocking that most of these areas were African American lower economic status community's majority (Cutter, 1995). Few studies suggest that environmental injustice is reduced over time, as Dowell argues that over 26 years environmental injustice is reduced universally but for the high-income class (Dowell, 2017).  




Environmental Injustice and Regional Marginality

Regional marginality is also a factor like class and race which can be the basis of environmental injustice. A study examined region-based environmental injustice in China, the findings indicate that environmental injustice does exist differently in different regions (Xiaojie Zhang, 2016). Abdul Hadi conducted very detailed research on the "Environmental Injustice in Pakistan: Impacts of Upstream Dams on Indus Delta and its Inhabitants" on the impacts of upstream dams on the Indus Delta and its inhabitants. Sindhi people, especially deltaic people are subjected to environmental injustice due to their subordinate status in Pakistan (Hadi, 2015).  The region-based injustice also applies to the worldwide narrative, those countries which are less developed or underdeveloped face comparatively more environmental injustice than advanced. Indigenous minorities and poor communities are in more danger in less developed countries than in developed ones. 




What Causes Environmental Injustice?

Environmental Injustice and State

The nation-state has the power to make environmental laws to avoid environmental injustice. But sometimes big corporations use the state and its institutions to legitimize their harm to nature. Diane Sicotte mentioned the case of Hayden (Arizona) where the coopering industry was realizing toxic metals and acids to nature for 90 years. The effects were severe on the residents, state provide very little help to them. Environmental injustice was possible because multinational corporations influenced the state's institutions (Sicotte, 2009). "Systemic organizational dysfunction" is another issue with the state controlling environmental injustice. The shortage of water in Flint, Michigan in the period from 2014 to 2016 was an example of Systemic organizational dysfunction" (Rudden, 2021). A state can play a very helpful role to overcome the problem of environmental injustice in the form of different laws and policies. Ecotourism can be a force for environmental justice (Bosak, 2010). The laws of a country should be able to improve the condition of the environment: the environmental justice factors should be involved in the environmental decision-making, the healthy environment should be a constitutional right, and the state should have an open and honest overlook of race, class status and environmental risks (D'Onofrio, 2016). These improvements are not able to apply to every state. Every state should make its laws and policies to overcome the problem of environmental injustice. 




Environmental Injustice and Capitalism

The problem of environmental injustice can be solved through capitalism or not? Karen Bell argues after the examination of different countries and the depth of their marketization, that it is capitalism which creates environmental injustice and other social inequalities. The writer suggests that we should find another economic system to solve these problems, instead of wasting our time to find the solution in the capitalist economic system (Bell, 2015). Valerie Hickey contributes to the same argument that it's the unequal distribution of natural resources which caused environmental injustice. Hickey further argues that the demand for environmental injustice must be enlarged to the quest for other civil rights (HICKEY, 2006). There is a strong influence of capitalism on agriculture in North America, which caused many environmental and social issues. The increase in 'agribusinesses' generated crises for American culture, independent formers, and the whole ecosystem (Edward, 2002). Joshua Mousie put the argument that Neo-liberalism and capitalism have failed to provide "global environmental justice". We should try the perspectives and tools of post-colonial theory, which can help us in achieving environmental justice (Mousie, 2012).  




Environmental Injustice and Industrialization

Industrialization brought development into the society, but pollution as well. The destruction of the environment in Japan increased after the war, with the advancement of industrialization, which caused environmental injustice in different places in Japan (Avenell, 2017 ). Barca (2014) has the same findings related to Europe. Post-war Europe had created certain kinds of environmental violence against humans and non-humans through massive industrialization (Ibid). There is another concept of how rural areas face environmental injustice because of the industrialized urban sites (Kaitlin Kelly-Reif, 2016). Industrialization is deeply connected with environmental injustice, it's the industry in the first place to create pollution. Industrialization created big corporations which are responsible for environmental injustice (Smith, 2007). 




Environmental Injustice and Resistance

The environmental justice movement trying to find solutions for critical environmental problems over the last couple of decades. The movement advocates helping youth (mostly the youth of colour and youth of poor communities) to accept leadership positions within the 

movement (Dale Roberts, 2012). Grassroots activists had changed government-implemented laws regarding the environment, and educated, organized, and empower the community members to improve the health and environment (Bullard, 1999). Our attention to the philosophical side of environmental injustice neglects an essential component of those injustices, which not seeing himself or herself as a political activist, the movement's concentration should be on how to build characteristics in the people (Gendreau, 2016). The environment became the centre of world politics over a few decades. Many environmental justice claims have roots in specific locals (Ramos, 2015). It's the need of the hour that affected communities have their voice, to encounter environmental injustice. 




Key Findings of Literature Review

Going through the number of papers and parts of the book related to environmental injustice, it is clear now that people of colour and poor and marginal people face environmental injustice all over the world. Racism is shafted to another form (Environmental injustice) in America and Canada and some other countries of the first world. While poor people and marginal areas face environmental injustice all over the world face environmental injustice regardless of any region or country. It's capitalism and industrialization that cause environmental injustice. Environmental injustice movements lead the people to initiate many other resistance movements across the globe against different social and political issues. 




Case Study

According to findings, mostly the people of colour, poor and marginalized people face environmental injustice all over the world. Now in the case of Chungi Amar Sidhu, the people of this area are marginalized as we explained marginality earlier. Secondly, the people living in this area are mostly working class. So, we chose Chungi Amar Sidhu as a case study because it is both, a marginal and working-class area. 




Theoretical Framework

We used two political science theories to frame the study of those theories. The theory of environmental injustice and marginality within a core. we also used an excerpt from Frantz Fanon's theory of decolonization. 




Research Questions

Why do small settlements always exist around elite societies?

 Why do small settlements face environmental injustice? 

Methodology

The paper follows both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The philosophy behind using the mixed method approach was to compensate for the limitation or deficiency of a particular method.




Universe of the Study 

Participants were selected from three union councils of Chungi Amar Sidhu UC#228 Chungi Amar Sidhu, UC# Quaid E Milat Colony Chungi Amar Sidhu, and UC#230 Sitara Colony Chungi Amar Sidhu. 




Tools of Data Collection

In the qualitative part, primary and secondary data have been used, and a qualitative interview is conducted with an environmentalist working in Chungi Amar Sidhu. Different online journals and some parts of books related to research topics have also been used. Similarly, semi-structured interviews were also conducted. In the quantitative part, two different surveys were conducted, one survey was designed for the population of Chungi Amar Sidhu and the other one for the population of near-elite societies. In both surveys, some questions were open-ended while some were close-ended.  

Data Analysis

We took one dependent variable which is that small settlements like Chungi Amar Sidhu face environmental injustice. We took three independent variables which are elite societies that use these settlements for cheap labour, landfill and their existence gives value to their societies. Surveys were conducted, one in Chungi Amar Sidhu and the second one in near-elite societies. The questions in the surveys were related to the occupations of the participants, essential and recreational services, and where they dispose of their waste. The questions were to measure the variables. One interview was conducted with an environmentalist to provide us with a picture of the area. Thematic analysis, as described by Clark and Braun, was done to make sense of the data. To get at the themes, the analysis went through six stages: (1) getting to know the data, (2) creating early scripts, (3) looking for themes, (4) examining themes, (5) defining and labelling themes, and (6) putting together the report (Victoria Clarke, 2015). The data analysis revealed a total of four significant themes. 

Findings and Discussion

In this section, the results of the survey and interview have been discussed. Starting from the demographic information of the participants, a discussion on the survey in Chungi Amar Sidhu will follow and then the findings of the elite societies survey will be discussed. In the end, the situation of Chungi Amar Sidhu will be understood from an environmentalist's point of view.




Demographic Profile of Participants

Table 1

Surveys

Demographics	Chungi Amar Sidhu participants	Elite Societies Participants
Age	The participants were randomly selected through random sampling. People from age 17 to 75 participated in the survey.	In this survey, the participants were also selected through random sampling. People from ages 17 to 61 participated in the survey.
Gender	58% of males and 42% of females participated in the survey.	40 % female and 60% male participated in the survey.
Profession	Most of the participants were wage labourers. Most of the females who participated were housemaids in the near-elite societies.	All the participants had highly professional jobs like university professors, lawyers, businessmen, doctors, and police.
Residence	The participants were the residents of Chungi Amar Sidhu. 33% of participants were from Bhati Colony, 14% from Gujjar Colony, 8% from Awan Park, 8% from Babar Chowk, 9%Karim Park, 11% from Masjid Mohala, 3% from Data Town, 8% from Sitara Colony, 6% Malak Chok.	In the elite societies survey the participants were 25.7% from Model Town, 17.8% from Garden Town, 22.8% from WAPDA town, 12.9% from Pak-Arab Society, and 20.8 from DHA.
The Period of Residency	Residents in the area from one year to 30 years participated in the survey.	Residents in elite societies from 2 months to 24 years participated in the survey.

 




We interviewed Tabitha Spence, she is an environmentalist in Pakistan and abroad. She is a geographer focused on water and climate change politics from the University of Texas and Arizona. She is actively working in Chungi Amar Sidhu for the last six years.

 

Nature and Location of Jobs of the Study Participants

Most people of the Chungi Amar Sidhu are wage

labourers. The results show that 62% of labourers had never worked in a factory. While 29% responded that they are working in a factory nearby and 9% used to work in a factory. (also see diagram#1 for detail). The variable we took that the near-elite societies use these settlements for cheap labour can be traced in this way too. The factory owners are those people who are living in these elite societies. 

Figure 1 



The data also reveals that 29% is not a small figure and add 9% who used to work in factories almost 35% of the population are those who are linked or were linked to the factories nearby. And these factories are owned by people who lived in elite societies.

In response to the direct question "Do you

work in the near societies?" the response was very clear that 57% of the population work in the near-elite societies, can see in Diagram 2. 57% of the population cover people who work full time in their houses as housemaid, guards, and drivers. There are workers like plumbers, electricians, painters, and many other technical workers who work on a need base. 

 

Diagram 2


More than half of the population works in near-elite societies such as Model Town, DHA, and Pak-Arab Society. And 4% were those people who worked there in the past. 
In relation to the other question "Do You Know Anyone who works in the near society?" the response was the same i.e. 60% of the population knows those who work in the near societies, as can be seen in Diagram 3. 
 


Figure 3

This 60% are those people who work in the elite societies, so, they know other people in the society and neighbourhood who also work in the same place. The rest of the 40% who don't know anyone is because of the nature of their work. They do not interact with 
the people who work in elite societies. 
There is a population who are not directly connected to these elite societies but some of their family members work there, as you can see in diagram 4. 
 
 Figure 4

50% of the population are those whose family members work in near-elite societies. 
So, more than half of the population of Chungi Amar Sidhu is directly or indirectly dependent on the near-elite societies for their income. From the above four questions, we can see that most of them are wage labourers in this area who work in near-elite societies. 


Provision of Essential and Recreational Services
There are not any recreational and even essential services in Chungi Amar Sidhu. Lack of management who controls waste in the area. And there is not any park or place where the people of this area can gather and spend a peaceful time. Keeping these small settlements underdeveloped and polluted gives the elite societies advantage of showing and advertising their land and society to buyers. It gives a clear idea to the buyer which society is for the elite and high class and which one is for the poor and underprivileged.     
Asking about the parks in the area in the survey "Do you have any parks or gathering places nearby?" 96% of people responded "No", as you can see in diagram 5.  


Figure 5

The question also covers the other variable that the existence of these small settlements is necessary to give a clear difference between elite and poor living standers. The elite societies have these large and beautiful parks, playgrounds, and community centres where the people of society gather and spent their free time in a peaceful environment. While on the other hand, these small settlements don't have any parks or gathering centres. So, it creates the difference between elite and poor living spaces. 
To measure the same variable another question was asked "Is it hard to get into work after rain?" and the result was the same 98% of people responded to the question Yes. This means the paths and roads are not constructed in the area. 
 


 Figure 6

To understand this more clearly, we will use the functionalism theory of sociology which says that everything that exists in society has a function. Shaun best describes this phenomenon in his book "A Beginner's Guide to the Social Theory" that everything has its function even crimes have a function because it shows that certain things are good and certain bad, so, it shows us the difference between good and bad (Best 2003). In the same way, the existence of these small settlements has the function that showing the people difference between elite society living standards and poor living standards. 
Not even the government takes any actions to control the pollution. in the survey asking about that "Does any government organization pick up waste from this area?" the response was very clear, 89% responded "No". 
 
Diagram 7

Government organizations such as TMA, LWMC, and LDA are responsible to deal with the pollution of Lahore, but they are not taking the waste from this area. 


Participants' Perceptions of Environmental Damage in their Locality
The response from the participants is not direct that how our environment was damaged. But they responded to the questions like "Where do you dispose of your waste?" and more than 80% of participants responded that they give their waste to the garbageman. The garbageman is usually hired by the 
people of a street or colony on a monthly basis. So, according to the participants they are not responsible for the damage to the environment in their area because they manage their waste by giving it to the garbageman. Then it is his job to take the waste somewhere safe. But the garbageman just gather the waste from all the houses and dumped it in an open plot or roadside. While some directly responded to the question that we dumped our waste outside or backside of our house. 
Some of the participants believe that the near-elite societies dumped their waste into our side, you can see in diagram 8, that 39% of participants responded "Yes" to the question. 
 


Figure 8

Elite society dumps the waste in areas of Chungi Amar Sidhu which touches the boundaries of elite societies. That's why the participants who are living near the elite societies only responded "Yes" to the question. while others just said "No" to the question because 


they never saw it or never visited those areas.  


Who is Responsible?
The last question in the survey was that "Who do you think is responsible for the pollution here?" 
 
 Figure 9

In response to this question, two things came forward; some say that we are responsible for the pollution here while some say that it's the government who is responsible for the pollution here. It was very interesting that just one question above, 39% of people responded that the elite societies dumped their waste there. But no one mentioned that in the last question related to the responsibility for pollution in the area.  


Residents of Elite Societies
The participants of elite societies were selected from
Pak-Arab Society, near part of Garden Town to Chungi Amar Sidhu, touching the side of Model Town, DHA Phase-3, phase-6, and phase-9. 


Where does their Domestic Labor force come from?
According to the survey, 73.3% of households have house helpers, as you can see in diagram 10. The house helper can be a housemaid, driver, guard, or gardener. 
 


Figure 10

But they don't know much about their house helpers, not even full names. When asking a question about their house helpers' location "If you have any house helper, where is he/She from?" almost every person mentioned just the main city or province. Many answers were "Lahore" but where in Lahore they don't know, some of the elite society residents replied that they have helpers from south Punjab but where in South Punjab they did not know.  
When the question about hiring any helper from the near settlements of Chungi Amar Sidhu was asked "Have you ever hired someone from the near small settlements around the society for any purpose?" 
 
Figure 11

64.4% responded "Yes" so, the variable of the research paper that the elite society uses the near small settlements for the cheap labour force is conforming to Chungi Amar Sidhu and elite society surveys data. 
Another question that was asked to confirm the variable of elite society using small settlements for cheap labour was "Do you know anyone in your neighbourhood having a house helper or driver from Small Settlements around the society?" the response was satisfied they knew people who hired their house helpers from near settlements, as you can see in diagram 12. 
 


Figure 12

These small settlements play a very vital role in these elite societies. It's not their responsibility to provide residency to the house helpers. They live nearby and on very short notice they can be called.  
  
Provision of Essential and Recreational Services
As explained in the provision of essential and 
recreational services of Chungi Amar Sidhu, the elite societies portray themselves as the paradise on earth 


and for that they need hell on earth too, to create the difference. Response to the question "Do you have any parks or gathering places nearby?" 96% responded that they have parks and gathering centres for the family and spare time. 
 


Figure 13



 
The paradise on earth means that they have every kind of facility in the neighbourhood. They have parked in every bock in walking distance from every house in the society. 
When we asked the people of Chungi Amar Sidhu about the government organization taking care of the waste their 90% response was no, as you can see in diagram 7. But the same question was asked from the residents of elite societies 70.3% replied "Yes".  
 
Figure 14

While the rest of the 25.7% does not mean that they dispose of their waste by themselves, the society's organization picks waste from their doorstep and disposes of it for them. 


Gauging the Situation from an Environmentalist's Standpoint
As we mentioned in Tabitha Spence's demographics, she is an active member of HKM. She does activities related to the environment and health in Chungi Amar Sidhu.  
Types of Pollution and Major Contributors
A question we asked her about the types of pollution in Chungi Amar Sidhu, Tabitha presented the whole scenario of the area and how many types of pollution they are dealing with. As her field is water so she talked more about water than the rest of the pollution. 
While Tabitha explained the types of pollution in Chungi Amar Sidhu, she started with solid pollution, she said that garbage is everywhere. According to her, it's the solid pollution that causes water, and air pollution too. Tabitha said it is very unethical and rude to blame the people of Chungi Amar Sidhu for the pollution. they are the working class they don't have enough sources to fulfil their daily food, so, how can they without the help of the government or anyone else dispose of their waste away from the area in the landfill. They are playing the role of cleaning their houses and gathering the garbage in one place, now the rest of the work, the government should do. 
The water has a high content of lead which causes many diseases in the area. The water in the area is undrinkable, there are other impurities as well. Tabitha and her friends tested the water, and they found many toxic ingredients which are enough to cause severe diseases like TB, Hepatitis, and Diarrhea. She included that the toxic ingredients are from the near factories in the area. There are glass and plastic factories in the area. 
Although air pollution is everywhere in Lahore we cannot specify it to one region, in Chungi Amar Sidhu the dust particles are very concentrated in the air, due to the unmetalled roads in the area which cause respiratory diseases. There is every time dust in the air, it's also because of the solid pollution in the region. Tabitha said when you enter the boundaries of Chungi Amar Sidhu you will feel the dust particles in the air. 
The area is also very populated which causes noise pollution and due to the dirty canal present in the area, there is a smell all the time. Some people don't consider noise and smell as pollution, though, they have bad impacts on human minds. She added that the environment is also safe not in the sense of pollution but because of the electric wires hanging from the electric towers. The canal is very deep and dirty there is a risk of falling in it. 


Helping Residents of Chungi Amar Sidhu in Absence of Governmental Support
Tabitha working with HKM organized many protests against environmental pollution in Chungi Amar Sidhu. She recalls some protests from the past, one of them was in 2020, they block the main Ferozpur Road in Lahore, to demand the cleaning of the Canal passing through Chungi Amar Sidhu. She said that the TMA cleaned the canal, but they did not take the waste away from the area but just take the waste from the canal and put it on the roadside. She mentioned another protest in Lahore Qadafi Stadium for clean water in Chungi Amar Sidhu. She said that the government organizations who are responsible for cleaning and providing drinking water such as WASA, TMA, LDA, and WLMC blame each other and do not take any responsibility. 
Tabitha with the help of HKM organized many medical camps in a different area of Chungi Amar Sidhu. They provide free checkups from very experienced doctors and free medicines. The camps are organized very frequently, with almost four to five medical camps every month. They organize the camps in different areas every time so, they make it easy for the residents to visit the near camp. 

Conclusion and Recommendations

Chungi Amar Sidhu is a marginal area in Lahore that's why it faces environmental injustice. It is a marginal community because the people who live there are from the working class, and they are excluded from many basic rights and a clean environment is one of them. The government is not taking their work properly to keep clean the area, but they blame the residents for the pollution. Where can the people of Chungi Amar Sidhu take their waste? It's the question from government organizations. Chungi Amar Sidhu and small settlements like this face environmental injustice because of the surrounding elite societies. The elite societies need these small settlements for their existence. They need it for cheap labour, these small settlements provide every kind of labour, housemaids, drivers, gardeners, security guards, and daily wage labour to these elite societies. Elite societies need these small settlements near them, otherwise calling labourers from far away would cost them much of worth and they will have to provide them shelter and food, but living near these small settlements like Chungi Amar Sidhu exempts them from these expenses.

The environmental injustice these small settlements face around elite society is because of two reasons. Firstly, one of the contributors to pollution is the near-elite societies, they dump their waste in these settlements. It is easy and cheap for them to dump their waste near small settlements. Although the people of this small settlement of Chungi Amar Sidhu know that the near-elite societies dumped their waste, still they do not blame them. 

Secondly, the problem of pollution and lack of infrastructure in these small settlements benefits the surrounding elite societies. Having these small settlements polluted and unorganized makes the elite societies paradise and attracts the audience to buy property in the elite society. A drone gives a picture of small settlements and elite societies like Palestine and Israel. The Chungi Amar Sidhu gives the look of Palestine as polluted, unorganized, and bizarre, on the other hand, elite societies are clean, green, and organized looking at Israel. So, these small settlements play a very important role as an advertisement for these societies.     




Recommendations

The following points are recommended to ensure environmental justice and to remove the suppression and exploitation of poor wagers/workers.

1. Since the residents of the elite societies use the poor people to be cheap labour, gardeners, and security guards. Such practices are inhumane and are regarded to be an injustice to these poor people. It is, therefore, recommended that the elite societies should either be established in far-flung/remote areas or the elite class may be bound to pay the minimum wages to the poor people/wagers of the local communities. 

2. A strict monitoring system may be implemented where it may be ensured that the waste of these societies may not be dumped in these small settlements. Those who violate may be fined or jailed or both. 

3. An awareness campaign may be launched where the residents of the areas may be educated and convinced that the dumped waste is hazardous for their health and life. 

4. Residents of the elite settlements may also be convinced to avoid pollution. They may be persuaded to realise that the poor people of the local areas are also humans and have the right to live a peaceful life in a clean and green environment. 

5. The residents of the surrounding areas should put pressure on the government to do something about the pollution in the area. During election times they should ask for a pollution-free environment from the candidates. Only through the unity of people in the area can solve these problems.  

References

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