Punjab

CDA ‘illegally’ dumps waste at Losar

Authorities breach LHC's orders staying the dumping activities

Qaiser Shirazi May 19, 2023

Dumping of garbage and sewage into the capital’s natural streams have spoiled the natural beauty of the city. PHOTO: FILE

RAWALPINDI:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has started dumping the federal capital’s waste at the Losar Dumping Site in Rawalpindi despite the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench’s stay orders.

According to sources, locals of the area have opposed the move, threatening the civic body with filing a contempt of court petition.

LHC’s Rawalpindi Bench Judge Justice Jawad Hasan has adjourned the hearing of the petitions against the agreement with the Rawalpindi administration to dump building material and hospital waste within the limits of Rawalpindi till May 23.

The court has also extended the injunction against giving CDA another 1,200 acres of land along with 1,200 acres of dumping ground at Losar.

The court has rejected the CDA's plea to adjourn the petitions till September and has ruled that the lawyers for the parties should come fully prepared on the next date.

The court remarked that it would decide the matter on merit after hearing the arguments.

Seven residents of the Losar and adjoining areas and three brick kiln owners have filed these petitions, requesting the relocation of the dumping site.

In the petitions, they have taken the stance that waste of the entire Rawalpindi is dumped by the district administration at the dumping site at Losar which is causing the spread of cancer, TB, and illnesses related to stomach, nose, and skin among the residents of adjacent areas. The court has ordered the termination of the agreement of the dumping ground on the petitions of citizens named Muhammad Asif, Noman, Kamran, Afzal, and others.

Following the court orders, the Rawalpindi administration has marked a piece of land as a new dumping site on Chak Bely Khan Road.

Sources further said despite court orders, the Rawalpindi administration has inked an agreement to provide another 1,200 acres of land along with its dumping site to CDA.

Locals of Losar said CDA can dump its waste anywhere in the Islamabad Capital Territory stating that the civic body has large swathes of land, and it should construct a dumping ground within its limits.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2023.