ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over the failure of the government to appoint chairman of the environment tribunal, at least in the Punjab, and ordered the relevant authorities to submit a report in this regard.

In 1999, the apex court, while hearing a petition filed by Nazir Ahmed and other residents of Islamabad, had ordered the government to constitute environment tribunals and appoint their chairpersons within a month under the Pakistan Environment Protection Act 1979 to deal with complaints regarding pollution.

On Monday, the apex court was informed by the authorities concerned that the post of the chairperson of the tribunal in the Punjab had been lying vacant for six months.

On this, a five-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, ordered the law ministry to submit the report on December 12 and inform the court whether its earlier order had been complied with or not.

In their application, Nazir Ahmed and some other residents of Islamabad, had complained before the court that residents of sectors I-9 and I-10 had become patients of asthma, respiratory infections, allergies and heart diseases due to pollution being emitted by industrial units, especially steel furnaces and marble units, in the federal capital’s industrial estate.

Reportedly, 500 factories operating in the I-9 and I-10 industrial estates are causing water and air pollution in the area. Of them, 204 are manufacturing units like GI pipes, soap, chemical, plastic, marble, spices, printing, Ghee/oil mills and steel furnaces, which either lack or have inadequate facilities for treatment of waste emissions.

Despite several meetings between the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pepa), the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the owners of these industrial units, no proper arrangements have been made for disposal of waste materials and installation of equipment to check pollution.

In the past, a comprehensive study on the I-9 and I-10 sectors had been conducted by Pepa in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency which had recommended the units to strictly adhere the National Environmental Quality Standards by establishing solid/liquid waste treatment plants and smoke emission hoods for safe dispersal of toxic particles.

A deadline earlier set up by the CDA to control increasing pollution in the industrial estate was paid no heed. Reportedly, 1,500 tons of effluents generated by the pharmaceutical industry, flour mills, oil and Ghee mills, marble factories and plastic extrusion mills are being thrown into the Leh Nullah every day, thus heavily polluting the underground water reservoirs.