LAHORE: Commissioner Lahore Muhammad Ali Randhawa has said that before setting up a new tannery, a chrome discharge treatment plant must be installed otherwise a new tannery will not be allowed to operate.
He expressed these views while chairing a meeting regarding setting up water treatment plants for leather factories (tanneries) and a ban on new tanneries without treatment plants. The meeting was attended by District Commissioner Kasur Muhammad Arshad Bhatti, Law Officer to Commissioner Lahore Umar Hayat, Deputy Director Environment Ali Ejaz, LDA Director Environment Farhana Imtiaz, Tanneries Association Kasur members and officials and lawyers.
He further said 147 out of 272 chrome-discharging tanneries will have to establish chrome treatment plants. “Those factories that do not install chrome and water treatment plants will be sealed; there will be no other way,” he added.
He said the full authority of Tanneries Water Treatment Plants Management Agency lies with the owners of tanneries; they must ensure that toxic water does not come out of the tannery. “We will allow the tanneries to play with the public health,” he added. He noted that as per the instructions of the Lahore High Court, it was mandatory to install a water treatment plant in every tannery.
On this occasion, the Commissioner was told in the briefing that the tanneries owner management has issued a tender for setting up individual and cluster treatment plants. The tanneries owners have assured the administration that chrome water treatment plants will be activated in all the tanneries in the next two and a half months. Meanwhile, the Commissioner visited the warehouses and reviewed the transportation, storage and delivery of Ramazan Negehban packages. He was accompanied by District Commissioner Lahore Rafia Haider and other senior officials.
On this occasion, he said there would be zero tolerance for the quality of products; so far the Ramazan package has reached the doorsteps of 68,724 beneficiaries. “Data of recipients were being uploaded after being delivered after complete verification,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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