PHC halts garbage dumping in Salhad dumping ground

By Syed Kosar Naqvi

November 25, 2023

ABBOTTABAD: The Abbottabad branch of the Peshawar High Court has issued an order to cease garbage dumping by the Cantonment Board and Water and Sanitation Services Agency Abbottabad (WASSA) at the Salhad Dumping Ground, situated at the entrance of the city.

The court has directed the immediate relocation of solid waste to an alternative site within the next 14 days. The project director of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project has been summoned to appear in court on the upcoming date, scheduled for December 12, 2023.

In this photograph taken on January 24, 2017, a Pakistani municipal worker dumps garbage in a residential area of Karachi. —AFP File

The writ petition has been initiated by citizens of Abbottabad. In 2020, the court had previously ordered the removal of the garbage dump from Salhad to an alternative location. In recent contempt of court proceedings at the Abbottabad branch of the High Court, the chief executive of WASSA, Cantonment Board, and TMO Abbottabad appeared before the bench, consisting of Justice Kamran Hayat and Justice Muhammad Ijaz Khan.

Justice Kamran Hayat issued stringent instructions to the officials of the relevant departments for the swift removal of the garbage pile from the roadside. He remarked that relevant officials should spend a few days at the garbage site to understand the citizens’ suffering.

The court inquired about the timeframe from both departments for the removal of the garbage.

During the proceedings, WASSA Chief Executive Rayyan Yousaf informed the court that they lacked the necessary funds. He mentioned that a new site at Dhamtor had been acquired for the dumping point, but funding and project completion were dependent on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project (KPCIP).

The court has summoned the project director of the Citizens Improvement Project in a personal capacity for the next appearance and issued strict instructions against further dumping in Salhad Dumping Ground and the associated road after the garbage is disposed of at an alternative site. The next hearing is scheduled for December 12, with Junaid Anwar Khan advocate representing the petitioners.