960419

Environment protection

law being enforced

from July 1

ISLAMABAD: The National Environment Protection Act 1996 will be enforced from July 1, and no grace period will be given to existing industries guilty of discharging toxic wastes from the industrial units, PTV reported on Friday.

Ministry of Environment has decided that if these industries did not implement the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS), action would be taken against the chief executive officer, after the set date.

In future penalty would be imposed for having industrial units comply with the NEQS. The penalty would be doubled every year, starting off with a small nominal fee in the first year.

Secretary Environment, Salman Faruqui said: "It is an international requirement, it is also a requirement of our own law. It is in the interest of the current generation and the generations to come to see to it that they live in proper and conducive environment."

He said that internationally it was impossible to sell a product if it did not meet the minimum environmental requirements. "That is why two regulations have been enforced, one is known as ISO 9000-I, and the other as ISO 14000. Both will be enforced shortly. This would require an exporting country to certify that the goods have been produced in an environment which is acceptable internationally,".-APP