Islamabad: IHC orders CDA to stop garbage dumping in Sector H-10

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to take immediate steps to stop garbage dumping at a site in Islamabad’s Sector H-10 within a week.

It also commissioned the IHC Registrar to inspect the site in the presence of all the high officials of CDA and submit a compliance report.

The single bench of Justice Mohammad Ramzan Chaudhry issued these directives on a petition moved by Riaz Hanif Rahi advocate.

The judge said the dumping of garbage in the open was creating health hazards for the public.

The petitioner, appearing in person, apprised the bench that the civic body was continuously dumping garbage in Sectors H-10 and G-10 near Kashmir Highway.

The practice was causing environmental hazards and passersby and motorists had to endure the stench from rotting, he said, adding, rain water seeping into the ground from the site was polluting the underground water resource.

He said IHC had taken suo motu notice of the problem on July 2 last year and after a court order the CDA had filed a compliance report on August 8 about removal of the garbage dump. But garbage dumping at the site did not end, he added.

The CDA was bound not to create environmental hazards and should be penalised under PEPA Act of 1997, he said. He cited Shehla Zia’s case PLD 1994 of Supreme Court.

Representative of SP Headquarters Police Lines Yahya apprised the bench that the police personnel were also suffering because of the garbage site.

Malik Ishtiaq, federal counsel and an official of the Ministry of Environment admitted pollution due to the garbage site. app

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_9