Relocating industries is no solution
Relocating industries is no solution
* Pak-EPA blames lack of political will and intervention of ‘high-ups’ for increasing environmental pollution
* Pak-EPA blames lack of political will and intervention of ‘high-ups’ for increasing environmental pollution
By Atif Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) have been planning to relocate all the industries out of town to control pollution but environmentalists believe it is no solution at all. They say that the industries will keep polluting the environment wherever it may be relocated unless solid steps are taken. Dr Atiqur Rehmen, a fellow at Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan, has told Daily Times that industrial pollution was very complex to understand. He said steel furnaces emitted dangerous material in the air and their high temperature could affect lungs, nervous system, skin and eyes of factory workers and those living nearby.He said pollution could be reduced if gases were collected in a chamber and then emitted through paper filters. He said pollution control was not as costly as claimed by the government. Pak-EPA studies and progress: Studies conducted by Pak-EPA to monitor air quality suggest that suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration in the capital is 3.8 times more than Japanese standard (200 ug/m3) and 6.4 times more than the limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Pak-EPA officials said Pakistan Environment Protection Act (PEPA) 1997 could not be implemented because of lack of political will. Pak-EPA has so far failed to convince industrialists in Sectors I-10 and I-9 to filter their emissions to keep the air clean. “Whenever we try to take action against polluting industrial units, their owners approach government high-ups (ministers), who stop us,” said a Pak-EPA official.He said the ministers were of the view that the country could not afford confronting industrialists who raked in heavy investment and produced profitable exports. CDA plan: CDA officials said Environment Ministry, the CDA, and the Pak-EPA had decided jointly to relocate the industries to Sector 1-17.For this purpose, the CDA had allocated Rs 100 million in its budget for 2007-08. CDA officials claim the industries could be relocated to Sector 1-17 in two-tree years. They said installation of filters or pollution treatment units was not part of the CDA plan.Industrialists welcome move: Industrialists have welcomed the proposal for building of a new industrial area in town but they have reservations that the government might not give them the facilities they required.“If the government provides us basic infrastructure, we will happy relocate to the new place,” said Nasir Khan of RK Steel. Jamal Abdul Nasir of Wind Pipe Industries said relocation was a need of time.Khalid Khan, a representative of flourmills, said bureaucratic bottlenecks were a hurdle in the way of building the new industrial area that had been on cards for five years. He feared that the area might not be built in the coming 15 years.“We are playing our part in the growth of the country. The government should install air and water filters in factories,” said a union representative.
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