District government has dispelled the impression of any extension in the shifting of chemical industries from the urban areas and asked the chemical industrialists to shift their units outside the city before November 30.
"There will be no compromise with the people who are causing air and water pollution in the city. They have been directed to shift outside the city for which government is not responsible", said Raja Tariq Kiani, District Nazim here on Tuesday.
Talking to different delegations in his camp office, Kiani said that after expiry of the deadline, an operation would be launched against the violators. He said that government has given 90 days time to these unit holders and it is expected that they will shift their units within this time.
Main objective of the action was to make the city clean and protect the lives of the citizens, Kiani said and added that these units were not only polluting the environment, but were polluting water resources and causing havoc with the health of the people living around. He said that it is the basic duty of district government to protect people.
He said that notices were served to these unit holders and there will be no extension in the deadline. "We will hold a strict operation against these unit holders after November 30 and no one would be allowed to operate in the city", he added.
In past, he said operations were made against the transport stands and buffaloes resulting in cleanliness of the city. "Although people talked much about the operations but the firm stand of the government proved that there will be no compromise with evil", he added.
"We are establishing a water treatment plant at Sawan in order to make the sewerage water useful for agriculture purposes", he said.
He called upon the business leaders, chamber of commerce and traders associations to co-operate with the government in making this move a success for the sake of coming generations.
He said that it is moral obligations of every Pakistani to provide better environment to the coming generations. "By doing this we would only produce a better nation and face the future challenges with grace and honour", Nazim added.
The district government taking serious note of the water and environmental pollution being caused by small industries including soap making, bones and fat burning, shoe making and other chemical industries gave November 30 as deadline to shift these industries out of the populated areas.
There are about 1,000 different small units of soap making, bones and fat burning, shoe making and other chemical industries in Rawalpindi, which are operating in one room or two rooms.
These units are using chemicals and are pouring chemicals in the sewerage system which not only causing environmental pollution but health hazards for the people living in its surroundings, besides causing havoc with the water resources of the city.