Terming closure of industrial units by Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) an arbitrary act, Hyderabad SITE Association of Trade and Industry has demanded reopening of factories and granting more time to fulfill environmental requirements.
Vice chairman SITE Association Sallahuddin, Shahid Qaimkhani and other industrialists while addressing a press conference here on Saturday expressed their reservations on the operating procedure of SEPA and said that over 15 factories have been closed by force.
Workers and administration officials were harassed and maltreated during the operation of SEPA that was enforced by district administration and police and factory owners were not allowed to preset their point of view, they alleged.
They said that effective measures to deal with environmental issues were not only time taking but those required an enormous amount of funds as well. Industrial units working in SITE area has started implementing environmental measures to control and prevent industrial pollution but their completion required further time, they added.
They were of the opinion that prevention of pollution was responsibility of Sindh government and they were transferring the onus to industrial units to hide their inefficiency. The Sindh government has failed to complete the water treatment plant despite passage of many years while as per law it was not mandatory for every industrial unit to install their own separate treatment. WASA, SITE Limited and other government departments and agencies were contributing 97 percent in pollution while the share of industrial entities was mare 3 percent, they said adding that any action against industries would be justifiable only after compliance at the side of the government itself.
They appealed Prime Minister, the CM Sindh, apex judiciary and high-ups to take notice of the situation and take immediate measures for reopening of closed industries as their closure was not creating problems for workers but the government was also being deprived of taxes amounting to millions of rupees.
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