Daily Times

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday rejected an environment impact assessment (EIA) report submitted by a private housing society.

During a public hearing on the report submitted by Rehman Enclave, EPA Director General Farzana Altaf Shah directed the housing society management to submit a new air quality report as well as new sewerage treatment (STP) and solid waste management plans.

The public hearing was attended by the officials of the Forest Department, Islamabad Traffic Police, the Capital Development Authority, EPA and students of various public sector universities.

During the meeting, Farzana Altaf said that the air quality report submitted by the housing society declared Sulphur dioxide value to be “Nill”, which was not possible. The report had been generated by the National Physical and Standards Laboratory (NPSL).

“The proposed landfill site is not available in Islamabad. Housing societies do not have any solid waste management systems. This not only affects the environment, but also causes problems for the residents after the development,” she said.

The EPA director-general said that NPSL manually generated test reports. “This is not credible. The purpose of EIA is to follow the best environmental practices. If housing societies fulfill their promises, a better environment can be provided to the citizens,” she said.

The Rehman Enclave chief executive officer assured the EPA that all requirements would be fulfilled.