SHC directs SEPA to consider request for additional comments

Karachi
The Sindh High Court directed the provincial environment protection agency on Friday to consider the request of the public, if made, for holding public hearings to receive additional comments over the environmental impact assessment of the two nuclear power plants planned to be set up in Karachi.
The directives came on an application filed by Sharmeen Obaid Chiony and others against the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency director general for violating court orders in respect of conducting the EIA for the project.
The applicants submitted that the SHC had ordered the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission on December 22 to file a fresh environment impact assessment for the approval of the two nuclear power plants in Karachi before the provincial environment protection agency in accordance with provision of Section 17 of the Sindh Environment Protection Act. They submitted that the court had observed that provisions of SEPA Act and Regulations 2014 particularly Section 17 (3) (2) of the Act were strictly to be adhered to.
However, they submitted that SEPA had failed to publish notices for conducting the EIA in leading newspapers as required under the rules and sufficient time was provided to the objectors to file comments.
The applicants’ counsel, Abdul Sattar Pirzada, submitted that he would not press the application if the respondents were directed to give additional time to the applicants for filing comments.
An SHC division bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah observed that such directives could not be passed without issuing notices to the respondents. The counsel submitted that as the public hearing was fixed for April 27, the application should be disposed of with directives to the respondents to consider the request, if any, made by the applicants in terms of section 31(2) of SEPA Act.
The court disposing of the application directed SEPA to consider the request of thje applicant or any objector in term of section 31(2) of the SEPA Act strictly as per law.
It is pertinent to mention that petitioners had raised several questions with regard to environment impact of the two nuclear power projects being constructed in Karachi.
However, the PAEC argued that work on the two nuclear power projects sites had been started after fulfilling all technical, scientific, legal, international and environmental pre-requisites.