Environmental hazard: EPA to act against stone-crushing units

Residents of 11 villages have been adversely affected due to dust from the units.

LAHORE: The district officer for Environment has been directed to take action against stone-crushing factories that are yet to implement orders of an Environment Tribunal passed in 2012. The decision was taken last week at a meeting chaired by Environment Secretary Muhammad Iqbal Chauhan. He said that action would be taken against the factories under Section 16 of the Environmental Protection Act 1997, Amended 2012, (actions causing adverse environmental impact). 

The Environment Protection Agency had asked the factories to ensure a dust suppression system using water sprays at key dust generating points to stop fine particles from becoming airborne. The agency had also asked the factories to regularly clean and spray water on the factory premises.

Over the past few years, the agency has been asking stone-crushing factories, located in a 15-km radius around Sargodha Bridge 111, to control dust pollution. EPA officials said that the factories not only posed environmental hazards but also caused health problems for workers and residents of the area.

EPA officials said residents of as many as 11 villages were adversely affected because of the stone-crushing factories.

The Sargodha Welfare Trust filed a case against the factories in 2000 after which the EPA conducted an investigation. The EPA found out that there were 354 stone-crushing factories in the area that were violating several provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1997. Of these, 325 stone-crushing units were prosecuted in an Environment Tribunal. In 2012, the judge ordered the factories to ensure implementation of safety measures as prescribed in the EPA.

Deputy Director Nasimur Rehman Shah told The Express Tribune that they had held several meetings with the factories to bring them on board with the recommended changes. He said the EPA had now directed its legal wing to proceed against the factories as there had been no progress.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.