Toxic waste: PHC seeks report on Chashma Sugar Mill incident by June 26

Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel says matter cannot be taken lightly.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday ordered the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government to produce the report on the enquiry of the Chashma Sugar Mill tragedy in DI Khan being conducted under the supervision of the deputy commissioner.

At least 10 people lost their lives while nine others fainted on May 2 after passing through a water channel contaminated by toxic chemical waste discharged from Chashma Sugar Mills-II. The incident occurred six kilometres from the mill which has since been shutdown.

Wednesday’s order was issued by a two-member bench of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain while hearing a complaint filed by local resident Muhammad Hashim through the Human Rights Directorate of the high court. The complaint was later turned into a writ petition.

The application read that legal heirs of the deceased have stated the sugar mill’s administration was contacted previously to properly dispose of the poisonous waste but no action was taken despite an assurance on March 31 that it would do so in 15 days.

Representing Chashma Sugar Mills, Advocate Abdul Latif Afridi said families of the deceased were paid Rs2.5 million each while the injured were given Rs0.5 million.

Upon this, Justice Miankhel remarked the mill’s administration was informed in 2012 about the problem but it ignored the matter. He said the incident claimed 10 precious lives and the issue could not be taken lightly. He also questioned who had been held responsible for the deaths.

Additional Advocate General Waqar Ahmad Khan told the bench DI Khan’s deputy commissioner was investigating the case, adding he has not received the report as yet. He also claimed the mill has not been issued a no-objection certificate (NoC) over the supply of ethanol which is pure alcohol.

Representative of the mill told the court the enterprise has remained shut since May 2 which has also affected the livelihood of locals. Around 3,000 tonnes of ethanol has been stocked and cannot be supplied, the counsel added.

The bench then ordered the provincial government to produce the enquiry report that is being prepared under the supervision of the deputy commissioner before the next date of hearing, which is June 26.

Earlier on May 11, the court expressed dissatisfaction over enquiry reports submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency, industries and police departments regarding the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2014.