MUZAFFARABAD, April 25: The AJK Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has asked the district administration officials to ensure that the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), a subsidiary of Pakistan Army, adheres to a ban on blasting on the outskirts of the AJK capital for production of gravel, it has been learnt.
Besides, the agency has also moved a summary requesting the government to declare Kamsar Nullah and its adjoining areas, located some five kilometres north of here, as “environmentally sensitive or endangered” so as to prevent excavation and stone crushing there.
On March 20, the Muzaffarabad district magistrate, Zafar Mehmood Khan, had placed a two-month ban under section 144 on what he had said in his order was “unlawful blasting by the FWO for extraction of gravel” in Kamsar area.
The order was issued in the light of a letter by the AJK-EPA in which it had alleged that the FWO was conducting blasts on a vast scale along the Neelum valley road to extract rocks for its crushing plant, which had not only threatened the adjacent houses but also caused air pollution.
The magistrate’s order warned that any person(s) or organisation found (guilty of) inciting or abetting anyone regarding use of explosives would be penalised under section 188 of the Penal Code.
The ban will expire on May 20, but the FWO is carrying out blasts, the AJK-EPA sources quoting the residents of the area told Dawn.
A resident of Dhanni Mai Sahiba village, which faces Kamsar area from across River Neelum, told this correspondent that he had heard at least five blasts by the FWO personnel on Wednesday last.
“These blasts jolt the fragile mountains and scare us,” said the resident, who identified himself only by his surname Abbasi.
According to the AJK-EPA, there are nearly 22 crushing plants, including the one operated by the FWO, in Kamsar area, which have allegedly been installed without proper mining/excavation licences from the industries department as well as NOC from the EPA.
These plants not only pollute the environment and mar visibility in the area but the gravel produced by them also spreads on the road, risking the lives of motorists, particularly the motorcyclists, the officials at EPA say.
The EPA sources said all crushing plants in Kamsar area were using excavators or manual labour to extract stone from the roadside mountains. However, the FWO was (also) using explosives for this purpose.
When contacted, AJK EPA director general Irshad Qureshi confirmed to Dawn that he had asked the divisional and deputy commissioners to look into the complaints of the residents regarding violation of ban by the FWO.
“Previously, we have served notices on the FWO twice or thrice but none appeared on its behalf in compliance with the notices,” he regretted.
Mr Qureshi said there were a number of genuine reasons for removal of these plants from Kamsar area.
“Apart from air pollution and landslides caused by these plants, the coarse aggregate material extracted from Kamsar area is also unsuitable for RCC construction according to a study on ‘construction material in AJK’ conducted by the National Engineering Services of Pakistan (Nespak),” he said.
FWO’s project director in Muzaffarabad Col Zafir Nisar was not available for comments, but one of his deputies told Dawn that they were going to stop the use of explosives for extraction of stones for production of gravel.
“We are looking for some alternative means so that we can continue without it (use of explosives),” said the official who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
When told about resident’s claim that blasting had taken place on Wednesday last, the FWO official said he would look into it.
“Currently our production of gravel is suspended.”
In response to a question about the EPA notices, the official said: “I have been here for the last two years and I don’t think we have received any notice.” http://dawn.com/2012/04/26/ban-sought-on-blasting-for-gravel/
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