70 stone crushing plants sealed in Margalla Hills
Owners say will appeal against Supreme Court order
An official puts the court seal on a stone crushing machine. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
As many as 70 stone crushing plants in Rawalpindi were sealed on Monday for causing environmental pollution and damaging the protected Margalla Hills.
Following the apex court’s orders, mobile teams of the Civil Defence Department (CDD) and Environment Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a joint operation against stone crushing machines and sealed as many as 70 of them on Monday.
Last week on Thursday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, had heard a suo motu notice case regarding environmental pollution in Sector I-9 Industrial Area had directed to immediately halt stone crushing activities in the Margalla Hills.
Subsequently, the CDD and EPA teams, besides sealing the stone crushing machines, shut the factories too. CDD District Officer (DO) Talib Hussain and Taxila Assistant Commissioner (AC) Faheem Ahmed supervised the operation.
The stone crushing factories cut out huge boulders from hills, then crush them into smaller stones for use in building and construction. The sector has eaten away mountains, to make buildings in cities.
The CDD and EPA joint operation was carried out in different areas of Margalla Hills including Jharmat, Salargah, Bahuti and Taxila.
Meanwhile, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Humza Shafqaat wrote to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to cut power supply to the sealed machines.
Owners of the sealed factories were warned of strict legal action if they break open the seals and restart the stone crushing operations.
As per Supreme Court orders, the district administration would plant saplings on all locations where stone crushers were set up.
Machine owners react
The apex court orders and the administration’s actions have left stone crushing machine owners fuming.
While talking to The Express Tribune, stone-crush factory owners Haji Iqbal and Naveed Khan said that they will challenge the decision in the Islamabad High Court.
Iqbal said shutting down factories will impact the livelihoods of around 350 families.
“We have been involved in this business for the past five decades,” Naveed said, adding that the government should provide them with an alternative source of income if it wanted to shut down their businesses.
The owners claimed that they did not pollute the environment, rather they follow all the guidelines including, a sprinkling of water to settle the dust.
A meeting of all factory owners has been called to decide the future action, they said.
CDD DO Talib Hussain and EPA Deputy Director Amin Baig, while replying to The Express Tribune queries on the objections of the factory owners, said their action was in line with the orders of the SC.
They said that stone-crushing factories were initially issued red notices.
They added that the machines operating in the mountain ranges of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), which lie adjacent to the Margalla Hills, will also be sealed.
They vowed that not a single stone-crushing machine will be left operative in the mountains of the Potohar region.
Pindi DC bans tree cutting
Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Mehmood on Monday has placed a ban on cutting down trees apart from banning the use of sawmills at lumberyards.
He issued these directions while chairing a meeting at his office on Monday to discuss measures against the timber mafia.
The relevant officials from the Muree, Kotli Sattian, and Kahuta tehsils were instructed to take strict notice of tree cutting in their respective areas and ensure that the activity was halted.
The DC further ordered to implement the forest laws under which usage of any kind of machinery was prohibited in the forest areas.
Mehmood said that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the trees, adding that they will mobilise the public in this cause, apart from establishing a close liaison between different departments. DC said that it was impossible to remain ignorant of the importance of trees for a healthy environment.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2020.
As many as 70 stone crushing plants in Rawalpindi were sealed on Monday for causing environmental pollution and damaging the protected Margalla Hills.
Following the apex court’s orders, mobile teams of the Civil Defence Department (CDD) and Environment Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a joint operation against stone crushing machines and sealed as many as 70 of them on Monday.
Last week on Thursday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, had heard a suo motu notice case regarding environmental pollution in Sector I-9 Industrial Area had directed to immediately halt stone crushing activities in the Margalla Hills.
Subsequently, the CDD and EPA teams, besides sealing the stone crushing machines, shut the factories too. CDD District Officer (DO) Talib Hussain and Taxila Assistant Commissioner (AC) Faheem Ahmed supervised the operation.
The stone crushing factories cut out huge boulders from hills, then crush them into smaller stones for use in building and construction. The sector has eaten away mountains, to make buildings in cities.
The CDD and EPA joint operation was carried out in different areas of Margalla Hills including Jharmat, Salargah, Bahuti and Taxila.
Meanwhile, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Humza Shafqaat wrote to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to cut power supply to the sealed machines.
Owners of the sealed factories were warned of strict legal action if they break open the seals and restart the stone crushing operations.
As per Supreme Court orders, the district administration would plant saplings on all locations where stone crushers were set up.
Machine owners react
The apex court orders and the administration’s actions have left stone crushing machine owners fuming.
While talking to The Express Tribune, stone-crush factory owners Haji Iqbal and Naveed Khan said that they will challenge the decision in the Islamabad High Court.
Iqbal said shutting down factories will impact the livelihoods of around 350 families.
“We have been involved in this business for the past five decades,” Naveed said, adding that the government should provide them with an alternative source of income if it wanted to shut down their businesses.
The owners claimed that they did not pollute the environment, rather they follow all the guidelines including, a sprinkling of water to settle the dust.
A meeting of all factory owners has been called to decide the future action, they said.
CDD DO Talib Hussain and EPA Deputy Director Amin Baig, while replying to The Express Tribune queries on the objections of the factory owners, said their action was in line with the orders of the SC.
They said that stone-crushing factories were initially issued red notices.
They added that the machines operating in the mountain ranges of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), which lie adjacent to the Margalla Hills, will also be sealed.
They vowed that not a single stone-crushing machine will be left operative in the mountains of the Potohar region.
Pindi DC bans tree cutting
Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Mehmood on Monday has placed a ban on cutting down trees apart from banning the use of sawmills at lumberyards.
He issued these directions while chairing a meeting at his office on Monday to discuss measures against the timber mafia.
The relevant officials from the Muree, Kotli Sattian, and Kahuta tehsils were instructed to take strict notice of tree cutting in their respective areas and ensure that the activity was halted.
The DC further ordered to implement the forest laws under which usage of any kind of machinery was prohibited in the forest areas.
Mehmood said that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the trees, adding that they will mobilise the public in this cause, apart from establishing a close liaison between different departments. DC said that it was impossible to remain ignorant of the importance of trees for a healthy environment.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2020.