PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the Swat district administration to shift the

factories outside a residential area of Swat and asked the provincial government to notify a particular place for industrial units.

A bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Shahid Khan also ordered that till shifting of the industrial units already installed, the government functionaries should have a check upon these units to minimise the hazards of noise pollution.

The bench directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue notices to industrial units/factories functional in the residential area of Rahimabad, Swat, and conduct their environmental examination.

Asks provincial govt to notify site for industrial units

The court also directed a plastic factory set up at City Homes, Rahimabad area, to apply to the EPA so that its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report should be prepared.

The bench issued a 12-page detailed order while disposing of a petition filed by Mohammad Alam and 20 other residents of the area, who had challenged the functioning of the said plastic factory there and requested the court to order its removal from there.

The lawyer appearing for the factory contended that several other industrial units/factories had also been set up there. He contended that as the government had not notified any industrial estate for setting up of factories, therefore, factories had been established in different areas.

The bench directed the EPA to issue notices to other units in the area so that one may not be treated differently, when the other units had also been functional there apart from the respondent (plastic factory).

“Regular inspections, maintenance check and equipment upgrades are mandatory which shall be done on regular basis. The potential hazards posed to residents cannot be overlooked,” the bench observed adding that only through striking balance between economic growth and residents’ welfare a safe and sustainable communities for the future could be created.

The bench observed that though this was the job of the environmental tribunal but for the last two -three months the tribunal was dysfunctional, for which the provincial government may submit to the chief justice of the high court for nomination of the chairman of the tribunal in accordance with law to get the tribunal functional.

It was added that the respondent-factory should submit the application to the EPA and the EPA should also issue notices to all the industrial units besides EIA report should also be prepared in accordance with section 13 of the KP Environmental Protection Act.

The bench further directed the EPA that after completion of the said report the matter should be taken up with the provincial government and progress report should also be submitted to the high court on monthly basis.

The EPA’s deputy director (legal) Mumtaz Ali and its assistant director, Mohammad Riaz, had also appeared in the case.

During pendency of the petition the court had directed the EPA officials to proceed to the spot and submit a report on different points.

In accordance with the court order, they had submitted a report, wherein it was mentioned that part from the said plastic factory there were other units as well in that vicinity and generally in entire Malakand Division.

The report stated that the process for acquisition of land for small/large industrial estate had never been started, which was the reason that units had been installed not only by the residents/domiciled persons of Malakand division but also industrialists from other parts of the country had approached the area.

It was added that if different parts of Malakand, owners had started installations of small units even without getting NOC from the concerned quarters or even approaching the EPA for submission of the EIA Report.

The petitioners’ counsel Sohail Sultan contended that an illegal and unlawful-plastic manufacturing factory had been set up within the premises of residential area of City Homes consisting of 75 houses.

He stated that the residents’ lives had become difficult as they had to face unpleasant smell of chemicals being used in plastic recycling and leather’s refining coupled with a lot of noise pollution.

The bench observed that the law had provided a mechanism for installation of industrial units and machinery for running of factory and for other commercial purposes, for which, in every district the law required that there should be an industrial estate.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2024