By By Adeel Pathan
He said that proposals for making amendments to existing environmental protection laws were being worked out in consultation with legal experts to give magisterial powers to the EPA officers and introduce heavy penalty with imprisonment for the violators of EPA regulations.
This he observed while talking to media last evening at Hyderabad after launching weeklong EPA awareness activities.
He said that environment was an important issue concerned with human health, lives and ecology, and sustainable development, and the government was very much serious about curbing pollution to reduce the health bill and protect the people from the silent killer.
He said that at present only two tribunals, one each at Karachi and Hyderabad, were functioning where about 35 cases were pending against the violators of EPA rules.
He said that initially notices were being served on the violators of environmental rules with warning failing which they would be prosecuted in the tribunal.
Responding to a question, Muhammad Afzal said that defective vehicles were the main cause of noise and air pollution and EPA was implementing a three-year Vehicular Emission Control Programme (VECP) with the help of fixed and mobile laboratories.
He said that under this programme it has been decided to establish four workshops two at Karachi and one each at Hyderabad and Sukkur to get the defective vehicles of the people repaired.
Before this the EPA teams during random checks on roads issued red sticker to defective and green sticker to emission free vehicles.
Regarding safe disposal of hospital waste, the Sindh Minister for Environment & Alternative Energy Shaikh Muhammad Afzal said that presently the hospital waste was being disposed off with solid waste.
He said that due to infected syringes and other medical equipments applied in different types of patients, it could not be recycled and incinerating was also dangerous because people might inhale the fumes. However, under the EPA rules the management of hospitals were being made bound for safe termination of the hospital waste through scientific equipments.
On behavioural change among the masses through education and awareness, Afzal said that his management was considering making environment subject compulsory in the syllabus of SSC Part-I & II. Besides, regular workshops, distribution of written informative material among the masses would be carried out and projection of environmental issues via mass media would be helpful in this regard.
Responding another question, Shaikh Muhammad Afzal said that district government Hyderabad and Provincial Forest Department has extended their full cooperation to make the environment week a success in Hyderabad.
Provincial Transport Department, Police and administration of the concerned area could play vital role to convert their concerned area as pollution free, Shaih said.