Suo motu: Nine stone crushers sealed following SC notice
People of Lora complain activity is causing environmental pollution
People of Lora complain activity is causing environmental pollution. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
ABBOTTABAD:
The district administration has sealed nine stone crushing machines in Lora, Abbottabad, following a suo motu notice of the Supreme Court. This was said by a police official on Wednesday. The action was taken after locals complained of pollution being caused by the activity.
A Lora police official told The Express Tribune a police party headed by Assistant Commissioner II Abbas Ali Shah visited Badnal village in Lora union council and sealed nine crushing machines and asked the owners to remove all the machinery within two days otherwise the administration would forcibly dismantle their machines.
The police said Haji Khalilur Rehman, Haji Wilayat, Ehtisham Abbasi and Akabir Abbasi owned two crushing machines each while Zahid Hussain owned one crushing machine. They had lease documents and licences from the minerals department but their leases had expired.
Up in arms
The police official said locals had raised objection over quarrying in the range of Margala Hills overlooking the populated area. Locals had said the stone crushing activity was causing environmental pollution. Therefore, they complained to the higher authorities and demanded a ban on them.
However, in May, a private news channel aired a news packaged on the crushing machines of Lora and termed them the cause of environmental pollution. This compelled the Supreme Court to issue a suo motu notice.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali expressed resentment on June 14 over the lack of action by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government against illegal quarrying by Lora based stone crushers, despite expiry of their lease five years back.
While referring to a judgment of 2013 — wherein mining, quarrying and blasting was declared illegal in Margalla Hills — the court said the unchecked quarrying and blasting in Lora was causing havoc to the greenery of Margalla Hills, despite ban on such activities and expiry of lease for this purpose.
Safe limits claimed
At the court, on June 14, a renowned lawyer, representing the crush machine owners, showed documents that the area where the crushers were carrying out quarrying was outside the limits of reserved area of Margalla Hills and K-P Environmental Protection Agency has formally issued a No Objection Certificate to the lease owners.
However, the mines department and district administration, while taking action on the court orders, sealed the crushing machines, asking the owners to remove the machinery within two days.
Meanwhile, Qadeer, a worker at one of the crushing machines closed after suo motu notice, said quarrying for limestone and gravel has been under way for over three decades and it was the source of raw material to a number of cement manufacturers, besides supplying gravel to consumers for construction. He said the blasting area was outside the limits of Margalla Hills.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2016.
The district administration has sealed nine stone crushing machines in Lora, Abbottabad, following a suo motu notice of the Supreme Court. This was said by a police official on Wednesday. The action was taken after locals complained of pollution being caused by the activity.
A Lora police official told The Express Tribune a police party headed by Assistant Commissioner II Abbas Ali Shah visited Badnal village in Lora union council and sealed nine crushing machines and asked the owners to remove all the machinery within two days otherwise the administration would forcibly dismantle their machines.
The police said Haji Khalilur Rehman, Haji Wilayat, Ehtisham Abbasi and Akabir Abbasi owned two crushing machines each while Zahid Hussain owned one crushing machine. They had lease documents and licences from the minerals department but their leases had expired.
Up in arms
The police official said locals had raised objection over quarrying in the range of Margala Hills overlooking the populated area. Locals had said the stone crushing activity was causing environmental pollution. Therefore, they complained to the higher authorities and demanded a ban on them.
However, in May, a private news channel aired a news packaged on the crushing machines of Lora and termed them the cause of environmental pollution. This compelled the Supreme Court to issue a suo motu notice.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali expressed resentment on June 14 over the lack of action by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government against illegal quarrying by Lora based stone crushers, despite expiry of their lease five years back.
While referring to a judgment of 2013 — wherein mining, quarrying and blasting was declared illegal in Margalla Hills — the court said the unchecked quarrying and blasting in Lora was causing havoc to the greenery of Margalla Hills, despite ban on such activities and expiry of lease for this purpose.
Safe limits claimed
At the court, on June 14, a renowned lawyer, representing the crush machine owners, showed documents that the area where the crushers were carrying out quarrying was outside the limits of reserved area of Margalla Hills and K-P Environmental Protection Agency has formally issued a No Objection Certificate to the lease owners.
However, the mines department and district administration, while taking action on the court orders, sealed the crushing machines, asking the owners to remove the machinery within two days.
Meanwhile, Qadeer, a worker at one of the crushing machines closed after suo motu notice, said quarrying for limestone and gravel has been under way for over three decades and it was the source of raw material to a number of cement manufacturers, besides supplying gravel to consumers for construction. He said the blasting area was outside the limits of Margalla Hills.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2016.