Poultry farmers play chicken with the law
A month after they had to close down, farms continue operations as usual.
MURREE:
The Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (Punjab-EPA) is not fond of chickens, especially the ones living in some 120 poultry farms in the residential areas of Murree. But it has not been able to get the farms to move elsewhere.
The worst affected Union Council (UC) is Pagwari, especially Dehla village, where 22 poultry farms are functioning.
An official of the agency said that despite the fact that the Punjab-EPA passed the orders to seal some of the farms in these villages, they are continuing to operate. After the Supreme Court took suo motu notice, a tribunal gave six months to nine poultry farms in November 2010 to shift their businesses away from Dhela Phagwari. But ten months later, they are still there.
The official said that Government Girls Primary School Dehla was the worst affected due to adjacent poultry farms, as the students have no option but to get educated in a “dirty environment”.
Rawalpindi District Environment Officer Shaukat Hayat said that the tribunal had issued orders to the farms owners to move elsewhere. He added some farms shut down operations after the notices.
However, some poultry owners moved the Lahore High Court against the environmental tribunal’s decision; their cases were referred back to the tribunal. However, Khawaja Afzal, chairperson of the tribunal, retired on June 30. No one was appointed in his stead.
“As the tribunal is not functioning now, the cases are pending,” Hayat said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2011.
The Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (Punjab-EPA) is not fond of chickens, especially the ones living in some 120 poultry farms in the residential areas of Murree. But it has not been able to get the farms to move elsewhere.
The worst affected Union Council (UC) is Pagwari, especially Dehla village, where 22 poultry farms are functioning.
An official of the agency said that despite the fact that the Punjab-EPA passed the orders to seal some of the farms in these villages, they are continuing to operate. After the Supreme Court took suo motu notice, a tribunal gave six months to nine poultry farms in November 2010 to shift their businesses away from Dhela Phagwari. But ten months later, they are still there.
The official said that Government Girls Primary School Dehla was the worst affected due to adjacent poultry farms, as the students have no option but to get educated in a “dirty environment”.
Rawalpindi District Environment Officer Shaukat Hayat said that the tribunal had issued orders to the farms owners to move elsewhere. He added some farms shut down operations after the notices.
However, some poultry owners moved the Lahore High Court against the environmental tribunal’s decision; their cases were referred back to the tribunal. However, Khawaja Afzal, chairperson of the tribunal, retired on June 30. No one was appointed in his stead.
“As the tribunal is not functioning now, the cases are pending,” Hayat said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2011.