Sindh's minister for environment and climate change has given assurances to industrialists of his full cooperation with regard to notices issued by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Muhammad Ali Malkani, who also holds the portfolio of coastal development, made the statement during a meeting of the Site Association of Industry.
He invited senior members of the association to a meeting in the second week of November for discussion on how to resolve the issue. Industrialists believe that responsibility for treatment of industrial waste before it is dumped into the sea lies with government institutions and authorities concerned. Four combined treatment plants were approved 20 years ago but there has no action with regard to the project, they say.
He told the meeting that under the Sindh Environment Protection Act of 2014, establishment of the Sindh Environment Protection Council is a legal compulsion for the government. The industrialists complained that they had been issued notices in violation of the Act, and demanded that before issuing such notices the government should set up a council, with representatives from the industry
Only a council would be the competent authority to establish environmental protection standards in Sindh, they argued. Since no council has been formed so far, they added, SEPA cannot unilaterally issue notices to the industries.
The Association demanded separate SEQS for Karachi through an amendment or revision in the 2014 Act.
They noted that by 2014 most industries in Karachi had already been set up, and there was no question of these plants being set up due to shortage of space in individual factories.
They asked for a viable solution for provision of the Combined Effluent Treatment Plant for which the federal government has already sanctioned funds and the Sindh government has already approved the PC-I of the CETP.
They demanded immediate release of funds by the federal government. According to the industrialists, since legal requirements had not been fulfilled by SEPA, the notices issued are illegal. They cautioned that this issue could bring on a crisis for industry and an economic setback for the country, including rise in unemployment.
The Association asked the environment minister to give immediate directives for withdrawal of the notices issued by SEPA. Siraj Kassam Teli, chairman of the Businessmen Group and former president of the KCCI, and Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, president of the Site Association, Baqaullah Unar, secretary of environment and costal development, and Waqar Hassan, senior director of SEPA, Saleem Parakh, central chairman of APTPMA, were among others who attended the meeting.