PESHAWAR, March 28: The Pakistan Environmental Protection Act's provision requiring establishment of sectoral committees of environmental experts remains unfulfilled even after six years of its enforcement in 1997 , reveals information gathered from different sources.

As per section 8-(6), of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (Pepa), 1997, all the four provincial governments are required to establish special committees of experts relating to different sectors to assist the provincial environmental protection agencies in their endeavours to improve environmental standards.

The committees, advisory in nature, were supposed to consist of credible and well-known representatives and stakeholders belonging to different sectors - education, health, non-governmental organizations, etc.

Pepa, 1997, reads: "For assistance of the Provincial Agency in the discharge of its functions, the provincial government shall establish sectoral advisory committees for various sectors and appoint members from amongst eminent representatives of the relevant sector, educational institutions, research institutes and non-governmental organizations".

However, even after a lapse of six years since the introduction of Pepa (in December 1997) the Environmental Protection Agency, NWFP, has not constituted the committees showing disregard to the law under which it came into being.

"We have not constituted the committees," was the reply by a senior officer of EPA, NWFP, when contacted by Dawn. He said that in place of establishing sectoral advisory committees, the EPA had been engaging academicians of eminent institutes and environmental experts to get input about environmental issues and raise recommendations on studies concerning environment.

But the independent circles said that the EPA's practice to consult environmental experts on need-basis had not been effective and could not be regarded as a prudent replacement of the sectoral advisory committees.

"Instead of going for setting up 24 district committees, establishment of five or six sectoral advisory committees would be much more effective," said a Peshawar-based representative of an NGO.