The Rawalpindi administration has allocated 1200-kanal of land to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Mauza Losar to dump the capital’s waste in violation of the court order.
Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema through a notification has given formal permission to the CDA to dump all garbage and harmful hospital waste from Islamabad at the Losar, dumping site.
The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench had ordered to remove the dumping site, where waste from Rawalpindi is already being dumped, to Mandra–Chakwal Road, where the Rawalpindi administration had acquired 1,200-kanal of land.
Instead of moving the waste dumping site to Mandra–Chakwal Road, the Rawalpindi administration has not only allowed the CDA to dispose of waste at Losar but also decided to dump the waste of the garrison city at the same location.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government had approved to remove the dumping ground spreading on 1,250-kanal at Losar and move it to Mandra–Chakwal Road. However, the current Rawalpindi administration decided against the order of the high court and allowed the CDA to dump the capital’s waste at the current dumping site.
After the local administration allowed the CDA to dump the waste at Losar, around 120,000 residents of the area announced to file a contempt plea in the high court against the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner.
They announced to challenge the deputy commissioner’s notification allowing the CDA to dump the capita’s waste. Thoba, Bada Meera, Chhota Meera, Hari, Bhambli Meera and other villages are also located in the area.
Due to the dumping of garbage at Losar, citizens were already suffering from cancer, skin diseases, tuberculosis, and throat, stomach, and eye irritation.
They said that the dumping of the capital’s waste will further exacerbate ailments and put the locals at higher risk of catching diseases.
The construction of the new dumping ground for Islamabad will also lead to the shutting down of 15 brick kilns in Losar and nearby villages. Zigzag technology had been installed in these brick kilns at a cost of millions of rupees a year ago. The closure of these brick kilns will increase the prices of bricks and render thousands of workers jobless.
Mohammad Asif advocate and Imran Aziz said that on their petition, the high court had decided to remove the dumping ground from Losar and shift it to Mandra Road. They said that Islamabad is a separate district, so how can the garbage of the federal capital be dumped in Punjab?
They said that the deputy commissioner has illegally allowed the garbage of Islamabad to be dumped in Rawalpindi. They said that they have decided to challenge the decision in the high court.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2023.
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