Health Hazard: EPT Prohibits CDA From Dumping Solid Waste In I-11/4

News Desk

Islamabad: The Environmental Protection Tribunal (EPT) has restrained the Capital Development Authority (CDA) from disposing of solid garbage in Sector I-11/4 near the human population which would pollute the air and endanger their health.

The restraint came into effect when a concerned citizen complained to the tribunal about a severe infringement perpetrated by the civic agency by setting up a dumping site at an undesignated location close to the population, as well as next to a cash and carry and a fruits and vegetable market.

On the report of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA), EPT Chairman Adil Anwar took the action, said EPT Registrar Bakhtawar Irshad.

Pak-EPA Legal and Enforcement Deputy Director Aamir Abbas Khan has submitted the site inspection report in light of the court’s previous order on July 6, where the complainant had filed an application for the issuance of a restraining order.

According to the EPA’s observations, the CDA’s sanitation department has been utilizing a vacant plot owned by the CDA as a waste dumping site in Sector I-11/4 for the past two years.

As informed by the sanitation staff available at the site, daily waste generated from Islamabad (from different areas) was collected and deposited at this specified location before being transferred to another site situated in Lossar, Chakbeli Road, Rawat, District Rawalpindi.

Upon investigation, CDA officials were informed that on a daily basis, nearly 100 waste-laden trucks arrive at I-11/4 to unload their contents. Each truck carries approximately 27-30 tonnes of waste.

However, only 25-30 trucks depart for the Lossar site on a daily basis, the report said. It added that during the visit, it was observed that trucks arrive and depart without a proper timing schedule, the site lacks a boundary wall, and polythene bags and other lightweight waste were observed floating in the air and outside the vicinity of the dumping site.

The report further stated that the stench was unbearable and could be detected from a considerable distance, whereas the proximity of the dumping site to METRO (cash and carry) and Sabzi Mandi compounds raised concerns, as these locations experience high levels of human activity and also provided food items that were directly impacted by the pollution caused by the waste. Moreover, the recent rainfall in Islamabad, coupled with the hot weather, had exacerbated the situation.

When contacted, the CDA sanitation official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that as per the Islamabad High Court order, the makeshift dumping site at I-12 sector was closed, and it was also directed that no dumping in the residential area would be allowed in the future.