Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Capital Development Authority (CDA) has failed to shift harmful steel industries from the heart of the city. Pakistan Environment Protection Authority (Pak EPA) declared these steel manufacturing industries injurious for environment as well as human health and included them into negative list in 2001.

According to details, a large number of steel mills have been working in sectors I-9 and I-10 from last four decades as in beginning these sectors were considered as industrial sectors in master plan of the capital city.

Later on, the city managers had converted three quarters area of said industrial sectors into residential sector to accommodate the local people against their acquired properties. The decision to convert a major area of these industrial sectors into residential was itself a blunder.

In 2001, the Pakistan Environment Protection Authority (Pak EPA) has prepared a negative list of industries, in which it included factories harmful for environment and human health. Moreover, the list included the names of steel mills and declared them injurious for environment and strongly recommended their re-location.

In response of that list, CDA issued notices to the owners of plots in industrial area and ask them to shift their factories outside the main city. The CDA has also prepared a plan to allocate alternate land to industries of I-9 and I-10 into the sector I-17, but it could not be materialised due to several reasons.

A former officer of the authority’s industrial planning wing has briefed the Daily Times; “although, the authority had prepared a plan to re-locate the industries in new sector I-17, but the CDA was failed to give a workable exit plan to erase said industries from sector I-9 and I-10.”

He said further; “we put a proposal to higher ups of the authority in 2011 that the authority should allow change of land use in industrial sector to compensate the owners of industrial plots, but authorities did not take it seriously.”

“If CDA allow the plot owners to convert their plots for commercial use i.e. environmental friendly manufacturing units, multi storeys residential apartment’s buildings or shopping canters than the owner will easily move their factories outside the main city as it will help factories’ owners to balance their losses as well as it will generate revenue for CDA in the shape of commercial use charges,” he added.

When contacted the CDA Building Control Department (BCS) to respond on the issue, the Director BCS Shafi Muhammad Marwat has said; “we have also received several complaints of environmental pollution regarding these steel mills and we are going to conduct a survey in the area to find out exact figures of pollution generating steel mills.”

Haris Nadeem, a former resident of the area told; “we were living in sector I-10 till 2009, but then we move from the area because of the noise and pollution created by industrial area of I-10. He said further; “the residents of sector I-9 and I-10 are facing several diseases due to said environmental pollution.

A medical officer performing his duties in worker welfare medical canter in I-10 has said; “T.B and lung cancer can easily be seen in the area and it is increasing day by day. If the relevant departments will not take strain action against industrial area then residents of locality will face grave consequences in terms of severe infections.”

While commenting on the problem the Vice Chairman of I-8 union council Haider Masood has said that these still mills are a continuous threat for general public. He demanded that the CDA should shift these industrial units outside the residential sectors.

Besides the Pak-EPA report, Supreme Court directions and public demand, the CDA higher ups failed to adopt a modus operandi to re-locate these harmful steel manufacturing units from the residential sector, which is a question mark on the planning and performance of city managers.