Green bench: Commission formed to identify Ravi pollution

Has two months to complete report on sources and nature of pollutants.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) green bench on Friday constituted a commission to identify the nature and sources of pollution in the water being disposed into the River Ravi.

Earlier, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked the Environment Protection Department (EPD) secretary how his department functions.

“It is the EPD’s duty to keep the rivers clean,” he said.

The secretary responded that the EPD can only issue environment protection orders (EPOs) and was not empowered to enforce them.

Shah said that the secretary should consult the relevant law that empowers the EPD department for enforcement.

Later, the judge named a commission to produce a report within two months details of the industries disposing pollutants in the river and the nature of pollutants.

The petitioner, Public Interest Litigation Association of Pakistan, through Advocate Ahmed Rafay Alam told the court the names proposed for the commission had the consent of Advocate General Ashtar Ausaf Ali.

The bench finalised the list as: Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik, chairman; Commissioner Jawad Rafiq Malik, the WASA managing director, the EPD secretary, Waqar Zakaria, WWF Director Ali Habib, LUMS School of Social Sciences Dean Dr Anjum Altaf, Advocate Ahmed Rafay Alam, architect Kamil Khan Mumtaz and a representative of relevant industries.

The judge decided that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president be asked to nominate a representative to the commission.

The EPD secretary suggested the names of four private individuals for consultation on water treatment. The judge said that the commission may engage them if required.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2012.