MUZAFFARABAD, March 6: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Environmental Protection Agency (AJK-EPA) has served ‘last notice’ on Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for “continuous serious violations of its conditional environmental approval” for the 969-megawatt Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project (NJHP).

The notice served through the managing director/CEO of NJHP has advised Wapda to depute a senior authorised officer, not below BPS-19, to explain reasons to AJK-EPA director general for such violations on March 11.

The EPA has also made it clear to Wapda in its notice that “it is seriously considering to invoke section 15 of Environmental Protection Act 2000, to issue Environmental Protection Order (EPO) and in case of (unrelenting) non-compliance by Wapda, initiate legal proceedings in AJK’s Environmental Protection Tribunal,” sources told Dawn.

The sources recalled that previously the EPA had issued two environmental protection notices and some guidelines but Wapda had failed to comply with them while continuing with “severe violations of conditional Environmental Approval, granted on January 11, 2011, when the NJHP was already in progress.

According to sources, under the Environmental Approval, Wapda was responsible to constitute an Environmental Monitoring Committee (EMC), work out reporting mechanism, finalise TOR of EMC in consultation with EPA and submit monitoring reports of project implementation activities to EPA on quarterly basis.

However, they said, none of these conditions was fulfilled over the past two years.

Wapda was also supposed to ‘positively’ share with the EPA findings of quality analysis on regular basis, in case independent environment specialist companies were hired by it, as a compulsory arrangement, to undertake measurements of different critically important environmental parameters.

However, sources said, neither the EPA was informed about hiring of any such company nor any monitoring report was submitted to it by Wapda.

However, the most worrying violation was dumping of spoil and dugout material along roads, open spaces and either along the banks or directly in the flood line of rivers Neelum and Jhelum, notwithstanding its worst effect on the life of Mangla dam.

Giving details of the previous notices, sources said first Environmental Protection Notice was served on April 4, 2012 and a follow up ‘reminder’ was issued on April 26, 2012, regarding the dumping of dugout material, dust control, noise, soil and water quality deterioration and adverse impact on terrestrial and aquatic life during the construction phase.

In June 2012, the issue of formulation of EMCs and finalisation of TOR was again taken up with Wapda, following emergence of serious environmental and social issues, such as depletion of perennial potable water sources, improper disposal of excavated material and chemical contamination of water bodies.

On September 6, 2012, a second Environmental Protection Notice was served in the wake of unabated violations and non-compliance of previous notices.

The second notice also revolved around the issue of dumping of dugout material with particular reference to its repercussions for the Mangla reservoir, sources said, adding, no official was sent by Wapda for hearing on September 27.

Sources said the EPA was ‘convincingly’ of the view that Wapda was deliberately flouting the state environmental laws and committing sheer violations of the conditional Environmental Approval granted to it.

“They are demonstrating haughtiness but we cannot tolerate disregard to the environmental laws and subsequent degradation of the environment of our area,” commented an official while pleading anonymity. —Tariq Naqash