The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change Monday expressed dismay while reviewing the status of international protocols and agreements regarding climate change, as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is faced with shortage of resources to ensure the implementation. The meeting of the committee was held with Senator Sitara Ayaz in the chair here at the Parliament House.
The chairperson said that there is no justification of creation of the EPA if facilities and human resource are not being provided to it. While showing displeasure over this situation, she said if this is the case in the federal capital, the scenario in provinces could not be imagined.
While showing concern over non-compliance with international obligations, Senator Muhammad Ali Khan Saif stressed if there has been a perpetual lack of resources then in such a case Pakistan is clearly in violation of international treaties and agreements.
Senator Sherry Rehman recommended that the EPA must furnish the committee with a list of non-compliances so that the ministry can be made accountable.
The committee recommended that a separate meeting be called in which chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA), Department of Health, mayor Islamabad, chief commissioner Islamabad and EPA high-ups are summoned. It also suggested that another meeting to solely discuss the implementation status of international protocols and agreements be called at the earliest.
The meeting of the committee commenced with a 10-minute documentary that provided an overview of the level of contamination of water-bodies of Islamabad that fall into the Rawal Lake, which is the main drinking water source for the people of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Looking at the level of contamination of water sources in Islamabad, Senator Sikandar Mandhro said that one cannot imagine the contamination of deltas that border coastal belts.
The committee chairperson expressed concern over the state of affairs in the capital and said that illegal high-rises, petrol pumps and CNG stations are aggravating the problem for which it is imperative that the CDA be taken to task.
While briefing the committee on PAK-EPA and its functions, Director General EPA Farzana Altaf Shah said that it has been working as an attached department of the Ministry of Climate Change established under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance, 1983.
She further informed the committee that the organisation since its establishment has been involved with formulating rules and regulations and the most challenging of which, she added, is the Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005, due to lack of human resource for monitoring of hospitals and the method of waste disposal. She further said that the lack of resources is a major impediment for the EPA to perform adequately.
While discussing the budget allocation it was revealed that no budgeting provision for the maintenance of laboratories, monitoring field activities, review of IEE/EIA and biosafety monitoring was provided. She further said that Pak-EPA since 2000 to-date has received 74 EIAs out of which 46+ 1 EMP have been approved.
Similarly in the case of IEE, Pak-EPA received from 2000 to-date 136 applications out of which 82+ 2 EMPs were approved. Discussing details of cases of petrol pumps and CNG stations from 2004 to-date it was revealed that these cases were forwarded by OGRA.
Total number of applications for petrol pumps received was 92 and out of which 81 approvals were issued. For CNG stations, a total of 133 applications were received out of which approvals for 133 were issued, the committee was informed.