SC orders govt to sack chief of  environment watchdog

Apex court observes that not only is the incumbent DG not eligible for the job, but he has also failed to fulfil statutory mandate of environmental laws

The Supreme Court ordered the Sindh government on Tuesday to sack the provincial environmental protection agency’s director general, not only because he did not qualify for the job, but also because despite being on that post for several years, he had failed to fulfill the statutory mandate of environmental laws.

Issuing an interim order on a petition seeking the provision of clean drinking water and a safe environment to the citizens of Sindh, a three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim observed that the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency’s state-of-the-art laboratory was not functioning because there were not enough funds to un it and in its absence, the watchdog could not carry out its functions as stipulated in the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014.

The court observed that the Sepa director general was a cadre post of basic pay scale (BPS) 20. However, the person currently holding the post did not meet the requirement.

The court directed the provincial government to appoint a cadre BPS-20 officer as the Sepa director general post immediately and also make its laboratory functional without any further loss of time.

The court observed that a judicial commission that had probed into the issue had in its report depicted an alarming state of affairs which was affecting the lives and health of the citizens across the province.

The court noted that the Sindh government, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, Sepa, SITE, and other departments concerned had failed to fulfill their statutory duties.

The court observed that the commission headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro should continue with the task assigned to it by the court.

The court directed that all stakeholders concerned should periodically report to the judicial commission to ensure that matters which had been highlighted in the report were addressed.

The court observed that every ministry, department, agency, authority and trust including any organisation under their administrative control would assist the judicial commission, answer its questions and bring the requisite improvements as may be deemed necessary.

The court observed that judicial commission would exercise all powers vested in it in terms of the apex court orders as well as all powers of a high court judge inclusive of the powers conferred under the Civil Procedure Code.

The court asked the SHC chief justice to ensure that judicial commission’s member Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro had requisite time to undertake this important assignment.

The court observed that commission may also seek assistance and information from successful non-governmental organisations including the Orangi Pilot Project and the Urban Resource Centre.

The court observed that the commission could document, photograph and record the prevailing state of affairs and the improvements brought in a systematic manner.  The court directed the advocate general Sindh to submit a report on the last portion of the commission’s remarks on the sand being removed from the Malir River bed and its conduits.

The court observed that SITE must inspect all industries periodically and develop a transparent mechanism to gather data and take samples of effluents from every factory to determine whether or not they contained any “dangerous, poisonous or objectionable” material and if found, take remedial measures as per the law.

The court said that samples of the effluent taken from factories must be sealed and photographed before being sent to the laboratory for testing. The court directed the industries secretary to adopt a similar methodology for the factories in Korangi, Landhi and Federal B Area and submit a compliance report within a month.

The court was informed by the representative of the Karachi Port Trust that the harbour was polluted by industrial effluent, sewerage and solid waste. The court was informed that plastic bags and other solid waste was also a hazard for the propellers of boats and ships. The court observed that the KPT, KWSB and SSWMB were public agencies and must ensure that the harbour was not polluted.

The court directed the heads of the KPT, the KWSB and the SSWMB to personally examine all the water channels and drains that brought and discharged effluent and solid waste into the harbour and the Karachi coast and devise practical, inexpensive and immediate measures from their existing budgets to prevent the pollution of the harbour and the Karachi coast. The court directed them to submit their separate reports along with photographs and videos recordings within a month.

The health secretary submitted that there was only one incinerator that was functioning for all government hospitals in Karachi and the rest were not functioning for which he could not offer any plausible explanation. The court directed the health secretary to rehabilitate and activate all incinerators installed in the province’s hospitals within a month and submit a compliance report.