Environmental pollution: EPT still dormant as law ministry fails to finalise names

The tribunal has not been functional for 18 months.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Law Ministry is yet to finalise names of the two members of the Environment Protection Tribunal (EPT) --- the exclusive body to enforce environmental laws in the capital --- despite a lapse of one-and-a-half-year.

The tribunal is still dormant as the names of the legal and technical board members could be notified by the law ministry, which shows its lackadaisical approach towards protection of environment from various forms of pollutions in the federal capital.

The law ministry, through a notification last week, asked Irum Niazi, a special court judge, to take additional charge of the EPT chairpersonship for a three-month time, but it did not nominate the two other members for the tribunal.

“Just as the tribunal is incomplete without a chairperson, it is incomplete without the two members. The chairperson alone cannot initiate legal proceedings against violators,” said a source in the EPA.

Generally, the Islamabad High Court chooses the EPT chairperson and member legal, whereas, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Climate Change Division jointly-nominate the technical member.

The source said that the EPA and the Climate Change Division had sent three names for the position of technical member in June, but the summary was still pending with the law ministry for approval. Similarly, the law ministry was yet to decide the name of the member legal.

EPA Director-General Dr Muhammad Khurshid said that regulators only issue environment protection instructions for compliance but they could not impose penalties and punishments. Cases are referred to tribunals for initiating legal proceedings against the violators.

The EPT has been non-functional since March 5, 2013.

The source in the EPA said that more than 135 complaints against violators including some business tycoons, re-rolling mills and educational institutions have been pending with the tribunal for the last one-and-a-half-year.

The environment protection tribunals have been formed under Section 20 of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act 1997. The tribunals have powers to give directions, act to override other laws and make regulations related to environmental pollution.

Sources said that the non-functioning of the tribunal and violations could result in environmental degradation on a massive scale.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2014.