LAHORE: Environmental Consultants Association of Pakistan (ECAP) on Wednesday said the ongoing controversy of Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had suspended the functions of the department and was affecting the entire province.
The members of ECAP expressed these views during a press conference held here, and demanded the caretaker chief minister to take prompt action over the ongoing misappropriations in EPA.
They said the controversy that had recently surfaced following an FIR lodged against Deputy Director Javed Iqbal and ML&I Director Tauqeer Qureshi was badly hampering the efficiency of EPA that was already in limelight due to its inefficiency to deal with environmental challenges prevailing in the province.
Dr Akhtar H Awan informed media representatives that thousands of applications were lying pending with EPA as it could not take any decision for the issuance of no objection certificates (NOCs), and this had also affected businesses in Punjab.
“If EPA had approved the NOCs on time, Punjab could have received investments worth billions of rupees and created several employment opportunities,” he added.