2009 — National Year of Environment: Pak-EPA without funds to give salaries to field staff
2009 — National Year of Environment: Pak-EPA without funds to give salaries to field staff
* Air, water pollution increasing, financial needs of agency ignored * Industries causing 90% air pollution in Capital
By Atif Khan
ISLAMABAD: While the Ministry of Environment has declared 2009 as the National Year of Environment, the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) – the implementation agency of the ministry – which is responsible for monitoring and controlling pollution, does not have funds for salaries of field staff and other necessary expenditure, a Pak-EPA official told Daily Times on Sunday on the condition of anonymity.He said that financial needs of the agency were being neglected at a time when the air and water pollution in the capital was not only negatively affecting the health of the people, it was also ruining the natural beauty of Islamabad - once known as a clean and green city.The official said that according to a latest visual monitoring done by the Pak-EPA, the air pollution level in the capital was higher than the international standards. The monitoring revealed, he said, that the air pollution level was the highest in the industrial areas of I-9 and I-10 sectors, hosting nine steel furnaces and hundreds of other small and medium industrial units.Industrial units: The Pak-EPA official said that it was revealed that the industrial units were contributing to more than 90 percent of total air pollution and that nine steel furnaces were identified as the major contributors of air pollution.The marble industry consisting of 31 marble factories operating in the Industrial Estate of Islamabad (IEI), directly discharged their waste into effluent channels of the industrial estate, which later passed through the capital, the Pak-EPA said.It was identified that due to a large number of development projects and industrial pollution, the number of dust particles was dangerously high in the atmosphere. The high dust particles had reduced the life of trees and plants as due to the dust cover, their access to sunlight - crucial for their survival - was reduced. The brick kilns were also identified as the contributor to the air pollution as the burning of organic material, tyres and raw coal for baking bricks at over 90 kilns in the city environs discharges volumes of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen peroxide, soot and other hazardous chemicals.The Pak-EPA official said that although the agency was responsible for controlling the pollution in the country, the mandate given to the Pak-EPA was not justified, since it was not provided with the workforce and equipment required for the task.“We have no filters, no diesel for vehicles, so much so that our field staff has not been paid for the last six months,” he said, adding, “There are more then 50 inspectors and other field staff in ABCD project and EMS, who have not been paid their salaries for the last six months, how can they be deputed to carry out fieldwork,” he asked.He said that the business community, including steel furnace owners, brick kiln operators and marble industry units were very cooperative with the Pak-EPA staff. He said if the pollution levels were monitored on regular basis and the industrial units not using environmental friendly raw materials were identified and educated, the pollution could be controlled.Although Ministry of Environment Media Deputy Director Ramzan Sajid admitted that Pak-EPA staff was not paid salaries, he said that funds had been approved and the agency staff would get salaries in a week or two.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\01\05\story_5-1-2009_pg11_1
* Air, water pollution increasing, financial needs of agency ignored * Industries causing 90% air pollution in Capital
By Atif Khan
ISLAMABAD: While the Ministry of Environment has declared 2009 as the National Year of Environment, the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) – the implementation agency of the ministry – which is responsible for monitoring and controlling pollution, does not have funds for salaries of field staff and other necessary expenditure, a Pak-EPA official told Daily Times on Sunday on the condition of anonymity.He said that financial needs of the agency were being neglected at a time when the air and water pollution in the capital was not only negatively affecting the health of the people, it was also ruining the natural beauty of Islamabad - once known as a clean and green city.The official said that according to a latest visual monitoring done by the Pak-EPA, the air pollution level in the capital was higher than the international standards. The monitoring revealed, he said, that the air pollution level was the highest in the industrial areas of I-9 and I-10 sectors, hosting nine steel furnaces and hundreds of other small and medium industrial units.Industrial units: The Pak-EPA official said that it was revealed that the industrial units were contributing to more than 90 percent of total air pollution and that nine steel furnaces were identified as the major contributors of air pollution.The marble industry consisting of 31 marble factories operating in the Industrial Estate of Islamabad (IEI), directly discharged their waste into effluent channels of the industrial estate, which later passed through the capital, the Pak-EPA said.It was identified that due to a large number of development projects and industrial pollution, the number of dust particles was dangerously high in the atmosphere. The high dust particles had reduced the life of trees and plants as due to the dust cover, their access to sunlight - crucial for their survival - was reduced. The brick kilns were also identified as the contributor to the air pollution as the burning of organic material, tyres and raw coal for baking bricks at over 90 kilns in the city environs discharges volumes of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen peroxide, soot and other hazardous chemicals.The Pak-EPA official said that although the agency was responsible for controlling the pollution in the country, the mandate given to the Pak-EPA was not justified, since it was not provided with the workforce and equipment required for the task.“We have no filters, no diesel for vehicles, so much so that our field staff has not been paid for the last six months,” he said, adding, “There are more then 50 inspectors and other field staff in ABCD project and EMS, who have not been paid their salaries for the last six months, how can they be deputed to carry out fieldwork,” he asked.He said that the business community, including steel furnace owners, brick kiln operators and marble industry units were very cooperative with the Pak-EPA staff. He said if the pollution levels were monitored on regular basis and the industrial units not using environmental friendly raw materials were identified and educated, the pollution could be controlled.Although Ministry of Environment Media Deputy Director Ramzan Sajid admitted that Pak-EPA staff was not paid salaries, he said that funds had been approved and the agency staff would get salaries in a week or two.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\01\05\story_5-1-2009_pg11_1
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