NOC holds up Islamabad’s new landfill

With the existing landfill in the capital filled to the brim, its relocation or site for dumping fresh garbage at a new site has been held up because the relevant ministry has yet to issue the necessary clearance documents.

This was disclosed on Wednesday as the ‘dirty’ games of the federal capital were looked into by the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change. The meeting was chaired by Senator Sitara Ayaz and was attended by Senator Samina Saeed, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Sana Jamali, Senator Keshoo Bai, Senator Faisal Javed, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Senator Muhammad Akram and senior officers from the Ministry for Climate Change (MoCC) along with officials from the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) were present. Veteran politician and former Senator Jan Jamali also attended the meeting.

A topic that typified the problems faced by the federal capital, the issue of maintenance and cleanliness at the Faisal Mosque - one of the largest indoor mosques in the country and a national icon - was discussed.

The committee was told that janitorial services at the mosque are being outsourced to a private firm, Dani Enterprises, on a contract worth Rs13.8 million. The company has in turn deputed 74 employees to maintain and clean the mosque.

However, members of the committee expressed their dismay at the poor level of cleanliness at the mosque and questioned the CDA about the feasibility of such a contract when there were no visible results.

The committee demanded that the contract should be canceled immediately. 

Discussing the issue of the landfill for the capital, committee members expressed their concerns over the state of hygiene at the old landfill site in Sector I-12.

EPA officials told the committee that a new landfill site has been identified but they have not received any documents to the effect. Moreover, since it is located in an area that falls under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Department, a no-objection certificate is required from MoCC to regularise it so that dumping can begin at the new site.

At this, Senators expressed serious concern and demanded to know why these issues were not brought before the committee earlier. 

Senator Sherry Rehman asked whose responsibility it was to get relevant documents. She added that the committee has been asking the institutions about the matter since last November, inquiring if the EPA officials only attend the meeting as a formality.

Senator Rehman added that institutions keep blaming each other every time the matter is raised by the committee. She asked if the government bodies wanted to make a mockery out of the Senate panel.

The committee directed the CDA and IMC to submit a report on the matter within a week. It was further decided to summon the CDA Chairman Aamer Ali Ahmed, Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz, and the EPA director-general in the next meeting. 

Discussing the deterioration of air quality in the federal capital, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that despite the greenery, it was worse than the air quality in places like New Delhi and Beijing - which have been among the worst affected cities in the world in the past.

EPA officials stated that they regularly monitor the environment in the capital, but the answer failed to satisfy the senators. The committee has directed EPA to submit all details regarding this in the next meeting. 

The committee further expressed its grave displeasure at the lack of knowledge and naivety shown by some CDA and IMC officers regarding issues discussed in the meeting. Senators asserted that the blame game must end and that accepting responsibility is the only way forward.