Environmental degradation: Case against stone crusher disposed of

Bailable arrest warrants for owners of eight stone crushing units issued.

ISLAMABAD:

The Punjab Environmental Tribunal on Friday disposed of a case against a stone crusher on the grounds that it had adopted remedial measures to overcome air pollution in the Margalla Hills.

Khawaja Stone Crusher has recently installed a dust suppression system in the Margalla Hills near Taxila after it was served an Environmental Protection Order (EPO) for air quality degradation by the Rawalpindi District Environment Office (DEO).

It is the first stone crushing unit to deploy a solution to reduce dust. The solution uses tarpaulin to cover the stone crushing plant and sprays water, through shower heads, on the rocks as they are being broken down into fine gravel.

The DEO does not have a laboratory report yet to confirm the extent of air quality improvement as a result of the instalment of the dust suppression system, but DEO officers told the tribunal that there has been a visible reduction in dust.

Secretary Rawalpindi DEO, Shaukat Hayat said that this order would set a precedent for around 100 other stone crushing units operating in the Margalla Hills.

Hayat said that the other stone crushers would either have to set up dust suppression systems now or risk facing charges of environmental law violation.



The three-member tribunal, headed by Abdul Rasheed, heard 28 cases on the final day of its proceedings in Rawalpindi. It issued bailable arrest warrants for the owners of eight stone crushing units who failed to appear before the court.

Cases against three stone crushers were disposed of because the units have shut down operations.

The tribunal’s member (technical) Anwar Rasheed Saleemi and member (general) Ubaid Rabbani also conducted an informal site visit of the Fauji Cereals plant on Dhamial Road. A case against the plant is pending with the tribunal on the charges of untreated liquid effluents and improper solid waste disposal.

The DEO reported to the court that the plant had made improvements to its solid waste disposal and storage methods, but its waste water might still have organic content that could cause health hazards if it was left untreated.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2013.