The Sindh government has decided to form a committee that would monitor the sugar mills situated in Ghotki town and its adjoining areas for any environmental violation.
Provincial Environment Minister Shaikh Muhammad Afzal visited Ghotki on Saturday where various nongovernmental organisations and journalists have complained about environmental violations by sugar mills.
Taking notice of the issue, the provincial minister directed the officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Office Sukkur to establish a monitoring committee to check the effluent and waste being generated by sugar mills and take necessary legal action if any of them is found involved violating the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997.
Speaking on the occasion, the provincial minister said that if any sugar mill is found exceeding the limits prescribed by the National Environmental Quality Standards while disposing of effluent, their owners would be prosecuted under the environmental laws. “Apart from industrial monitoring, other sectors will also be fully kept in check to control pollution,” he added.
He said it is the duty of all stakeholders that wherever they find any business or office polluting the natural environment, they must bring it to the notice of the authorities concerned to take necessary action per law.
He assured non-governmental organisations and journalists of the area that their grievances regarding polluting sugar mills would be addressed on priority basis and the issue would be settled accordingly.
Afzal also visited the under-construction building of the EPA Regional Office Sukkur and directed the contractor of the building to immediately complete its construction.
