KP’s failed to control environmental pollution, CJP Gulzar
Javed Khan
PESHAWAR
Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad on Monday assailed the poor performance of environmental protection agency (EPA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for not taking pragmatic measures to abate the level of pollution in the province.
He remarked that the pollution situation of this magnitude in the province demands concrete and uniformity but the EPA is going in a different direction and has failed to control the emerging issue of pollution and environmental degradation.
He said that Lahore had performed better than Peshawar in dealing with environmental degradation and the issue of pollution, expressing extreme concern over the efforts of the provincial government Chief Justice ordered for more practical approaches.
The top judge, heading a three-member bench, has been hearing a case against environmental pollution at Supreme Court’s Peshawar registry.
The three-member bench consisted of Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Aijaz-ul-Hussan and Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court also criticized the poor performance of the provincial government while undertaking the one-billion trees tsunami project, adding that where the government had planted one-billion trees we did not see any of them in the provincial capital.
The EPA should follow the international community set rules while dealing with the issues such as environmental and all kinds of pollution as these matters are related to human health and may have some serious consequences for public health. All those officers who are not working with commitment in the field of environment should be fired from their offices apex court remarked.
Justice Faisal Arab said that the situation of pollution in Peshawar was so bad that even if the covid-19 had not hit, they would still be wearing face masks, adding that the air condition of the is deplorable with pollutant materials everywhere in Peshawar.
Justice Aijaz-ul-Hussan, who was a member of the bench, said that the court has the power to issue Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for combating pollution in congested cities like Peshawar but again the issue of poor implementation will be raised.
He termed the overall condition of cleanliness of the provincial capital unsatisfied and asked the government for taking steps for controlling the level of pollution.
He said the government and its concerned department have demonstrated a non seriousness attitude in the report submitted before the bench.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had earlier sought a report from all provinces regarding their preparations against abating environmental pollution.
According to a 2015 report published by the medical journal Lancet, nearly 22 percent of annual deaths in Pakistan are caused by pollution, the majority of them due to air pollution.
