ISLAMABAD   -   Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday directed the federal government and all the provincial governments to update the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) within a period of three months and submit the updated/revised NEQS. 

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan heard the constitution petitions regarding declaration of Rule 2 (c) and Schedule-IV of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Power Crushers (Installation, Operation and Regulation) Rules, 2020 as ultra vires the Constitution. 

The petitioners contended that the unlawful operations of stone power crushers in the village Suraj Galli, Tehsil Khanpur, District Haripur, are causing air pollution in the area, which raises serious threat to human life and health. 

The court therefore formed a Power Crushers Commission under the chairmanship of Dr Pervez Hassan, which final report concluded that the three power crushers operating in the area in question are alarmingly violating the NEQS, as well as, the requirement of distance from the local community under the rules. 

According to the report, the air pollution generated by the power crushers carries calcium carbonate which has adverse effects for human health such as damaging the respiratory tract. The air pollution affects not just humans, but also animals, plants and forests.  

In order to protect the human life and health of the residents of the area, who have been subjected to these plants for a number of years, the bench directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), KP to shut down and seal the operations of these stone crushing plants immediately. 

The respondent owners of the said plants can be allowed to re-operationalise their plants provided they make an appropriate application to this court satisfying the Court that they now comply with the requirements of the NEQS, which the Court, after verifying this fact through a technical expert may allow. 

The court said that the local police shall render full assistance to EPA to carry out the Order of this Court in shutting down the stone crushing plants immediately. The SC office ordered to dispatch a copy of the order to the Inspector General Police, KP for immediate compliance. The Advocate General, KP was asked to submit a compliance report within a week. 

The court noted that the NEQS were passed in 1993 and last updated in the year 2010 and the federal and provincial governments have made no efforts to update the said standards. It is crucial to highlight that by limiting both the quality and quantity of anthropogenic pollutants in the environment, the NEQS serve as crucial frameworks which facilitate the transition towards a sustainable future. 

The order said that these standards do not only ensure the preservation of ecosystems and protection of public health through preventive measures but also play a significant role in fostering climate resilient development mechanisms by encouraging sustainable production processes in industries.  

The case was adjourned until first week of November for the report of the Provincial Governments regarding the updating/revision of the NEQS as well as the report on the environmental status of the 900 stone crushing plants.