‘Impeding business’: Mines department asked to report on cement excavation ban

Neighbouring residents complain of not receiving royalty from factory .

PESHAWAR: The secretary and director of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Mines and Minerals along with district and senior civil judges in Kohat have been asked to submit written replies regarding a ban imposed on excavation for the production of cement by Kohat Cement Factory.

The directions were issued by a bench of Peshawar High Court comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Lal Jan Khattak on Wednesday, while hearing a petition of Kohat Cement Factory filed through its lawyer, Isaaq Ali Qazi.

Qazi informed the court the said factory was established in 1992. He added 1,000 employees are directly associated with it currently while 8,500 are affiliated to it indirectly. A power plant of 22.2 megawatts was also established to provide electricity for production in the factory.



The lawyer said the total cost of the power plant was Rs15 billion which was paid by the owner of the factory. The administration of the factory regularly pays taxes to the provincial government for revenue generation. “Apart from paying regular taxes to the government, the factory also pays a monthly amount to the government in the shape of royalty which is then given to locals residing in neighbouring houses,” Qazi told the bench.

However, locals have not been paid royalty by the government because of which a dispute between the two sides has developed, thereby causing the court to ban excavation for the production of cement. Limestone and aluminium ore refuse are some of the raw materials needed to manufacture cement.

“Residents approached a local court in Kohat which imposed a ban on excavation in the area meant for raw material of cement,” Qazi told the court. “The court has fixed January 15, 2015 as the next date for hearing the case.”

The two-judge bench was informed that any dispute pertaining to locals should not affect the business of the petitioner since production of the factory is of great significance, adding it produces 450 tonnes of cement and supplies it to various cities of the country.

The provincial government had leased the mountains for excavation of raw material and the ban is causing the factory a loss of millions of rupees daily, contended Qazi.

The court was requested to overturn the ban imposed by the local court on excavation of raw material so that the petitioner’s business could be resumed.

After hearing the arguments, the court issued notices to the secretary and director of the mines department along with civil and district judges to respond to the petition on the next date of hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2014.