PHC summons officials for non-dumping of solid waste

PESHAWAR: A special ‘Green Bench’ of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed secretaries of the industries and local government departments to appear and explain why concrete steps were not taken for dumping solid waste of marble factories in Buner district.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan also directed the Peshawar district nazim to hold a meeting at his office on November 7 with officials concerned including deputy commissioner Peshawar, director general Environmental Protection Agency, representatives of Communication and Works Department, Cantonment Board Peshawar, Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar and find ways and means for eliminating and controlling pollution of Peshawar city that has already been declared the second most polluted area in the world.

The bench passed the directives in two writ petitions, one was filed against pollution from solid waste of marble factories in Buner district and the second was filed for elimination and control of pollution in the provincial metropolis. During hearing of the first petition, FM Sabir advocate, representing the local government, submitted a summary about establishment of Marble City in Buner.

He said the issue of solid waste from marble factories would be resolved after establishment of Marble City and the summary was placed before the chief secretary for approval. On this, the court stated it has no concern with the Marble City but why the government did not take steps for dumping the solid waste from marble factories, which are causing pollution.

The court summoned secretaries industries and local government, deputy commissioner and district nazim of Buner on next hearing. About the progress report on pollution of Peshawar city, EPA Director General Dr Muhammad Bashir Khan informed the bench that the Cantonment Board Peshawar has followed the court orders.

About the EPA steps for controlling pollution in the city, he said the EPA had identified 92 points causing air pollution from various sources including some industries in Hayatabad Industrial Estate, cotton machines and coal shops in the city.

He said the EPA had issued letters to the deputy commissioner for controlling the pollution. The Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar  projects general manager Attaullah and lawyer Atif Ali have informed the bench that the WSSP had paid Rs173 million to the local government for hiring 540 kanals of barren land in Badaber area of Peshawar for disposal of the city’s solid waste.

“The city of flowers has been turned into the city of dirtiness. The court will not compromise on the pollution issue and would take stern action against the officials concerned if its orders were not complied with,” Justice Qaiser Rashid observed.

Justice Yahya Afridi remarked that pollution is the issue for all in the society and everyone should take responsibility in this regard to control and eliminate it from the city as well as the province.

Ghulam Shoaib Jaaly, who filed the writ petition, informed the bench that it was revealed recently in the World Health Organisation (WHO) report that Peshawar was the second most polluted city out of 1,600 cities in the world. He said that currently the air pollution is 100 per cent and pollution in the drinking water and dirtiness is very high in the city.

He said that Peshawar city had been polluted since long and different departments were set up from time to time by the provincial government to tackle it. An official of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) informed the bench that the government would start work on Mass Transit Plan in March 2017 to solve traffic problems in the city.

A representative of Communication and Works Department informed the bench that all the broken roads in the main and busy city bazaars including Shoba Bazaar, Khyber Bazaar, Qissa Khwani and Dabgari Gardens would be repaired within a week.

The petitioners requested the high court to direct the government and agencies to take stern action against pollution, provide timeframe in which pollution in Peshawar could be controlled, furnish details of funds spent on anti-pollution campaigns and explain the reasons for non-implementation of pollution control measures. The bench fixed November 10 for the next hearing.