SHEIKHUPURA, Aug 29: The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has served explanation notices on 190 violators for not fulfilling the National Environmental Quality Standard (NEQS) in the district.

This was said by EPA District Officer Muhammad Saleem Paal while talking to Dawn here. He said challans of 23 industrial units had been submitted to the court of senior civil judge (environmental magistrate) while eight cases had been filed with the Punjab special environment tribunal, Lahore.

Mr Paal said the environment protection orders (EPO) had been issued to 14 industrial units and 215 cases of the same nature were under process. He further said out of 482 industrial units, only seven were observing the NEQS requirements.

A survey conducted by this correspondent revealed that many textile, dying, tannery, brick kilns, rice mills, fertilizers, steel furnaces, paperboard and chemical industries, on major roads in the district had become 'dangerous' for human and animal life, besides destroying crops.

For instance, more than 35 locals had contracted tuberculosis, chest infection, hepatitis, lungs, eyes, liver, skin and respiratory diseases at Tibbi Herya village on the Sheikhupura-Faisalabad Road. The drinking water obtained from hand pumps and wells in the area had contaminated and was declared injurious to health by laboratory tests.

Meanwhile, on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Provincial Environment Minister Makhdoom Ishfaq Ahmad has convened a meeting on Aug 31.

EPD Secretary Iqbal Sheikh, district Nazim Tawakkalullah Virk, DCO Tariq Najeeb Najmi, and industrialists allegedly involved in spreading pollution in the district will attend the meeting.

Under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, the officials concerned are required to check installation of a treatment plant before issuing NOC to an industrial unit. But the businessmen managed to get the NOCs issued after greasing the palms of the government functionaries.

On contacting mills owners, they said the treatment plant was very costly and they could not afford it, but the EPA officials rejected their version. However, District Officer Saleem Paal said that a lot of NOCs had already been issued before the establishment of the environmental protection department.