Incentives for the licensed industrial units to relocate to outskirts. PHOTO: FILE
A meeting between senior officials of Sepa and representatives of different industrial associations was held on Thursday at the Sepa head office in Korangi. Sepa Director-General (DG) and Climate Change and Coastal Development Secretary Baqaullah Unar, who presided over the meeting, gave a one-week deadline to the industrialists to respond whether or not the industries are installing CETPs according to the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014.
"Inform Sepa whether the industries are going to install CETPs or not," Unar demanded of the industrialists. He warned that Sepa will once again start action against the industries involved in spreading pollution according to Section 21 of the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014, which allows the agency to impose various penalties on the industries that do not follow the law.
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Unar told the industrialists that they should not offer any excuses as they have been doing in the past, and install the CETPs according to the law. He also proposed that the industrialists form an investment pool in case they face financial duress in installing the CETPs.
Mentioning the hazardous effects of the effluent released by industries, Unar said the dearth of marine life within a 20-nautical-mile radius of the beach is an alarming situation, adding that the industrial waste is affecting the seafood business and more importantly the ecosystem. It could reach a 50-nautical-mile radius if we continue to ignore it like this, he warned.
A few months ago, at the start of 2017, Sepa had shut down 30 industries and issued notices to more than 300 others, which prompted the industries to protest and go on a strike.
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Jawed Balwani, spokesperson of the industries associations of Karachi, told The Express Tribune that the industries are reluctant to install CETPs because the government has already announced the establishment of at least four CETPs in North Karachi, Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE), Korangi and Super Highway Industrial Area with their PC-1 already prepared. If the industries install their own CETPs, their huge investment will go to waste after the installation of government CETPs, said Balwani.
Those who attended the meeting included environmental expert Shahid Lutfi, Saleemuz Zaman representing Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, Dr Bilal Ahmed representing the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Suleman Chowla representing SITE Association of Industry, Faraz Hussain and Imran Khan representing North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry and Tariq Mehmood representing the Export Processing Zone Authority.
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