950813

'Harsh environment

laws to hurt

growth of industry'

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Tariq Saigol, President, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged upon the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to exclude the harsh laws from the Draft-Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1995 and include fiscal incentives for the industries adopting pollution control systems.

He was addressing a seminar organized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Punjab, on 'Draft-Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1995' on Sunday at the chamber premises.

Javed Qureshi, Chief Secretary, Punjab, and Ch Siddique, Secretary, Housing and Physical Planning, Punjab, attended the seminar as chief guest of the opening and concluding sessions, respectively.

Musthaq Malik, Director-General, EPA, Dr Zahid Hamid, advocate and Tariq Hamid, former president of the LCCI, also spoke on this occasion.

Saigol said that the business community was fully aware of the significant of the environmental protection issue. He said that the traders' community was ready to extend all co-operation to the government to control environmental pollution. However, he observed, stringent laws proposed in the 'Draf Act' for environmental protection would be misused by government officials, like other such laws. And he added, this would become a big barrier in industrial development of the country.

ARREST CLAUSE

He expressed deep concern over a proposal contained in the said draft to arrest the industrialist causing pollution - without any warrant. He said that 'policing' is the no solution to control pollution.

He was of the view that a friendly partnership between the government and private sector should be evolved to overcome the problem of augumenting pollution.

He also suggested to make the pollution control system cost-effective so as to make the industry more receptive towards them.

He further suggested that to encourage pollution control strategies in the industrial sector, the government should announce certain fiscal incentives including tax exemptions for the units adopting pollution control systems.

However, Tariq Saigol appreciated a proposal presented in the said draft to establish a Pakistan Environmental Protection Council comprising representatives from the private sector as well.

He further said that the local industry was suffering from recession at national as well as international level. Therefore, it cannot afford any sudden stringent policy for environmental pollution control, he said adding that such policy shuld be enforced in phases extending to a period of over two decades.

Javed Qureshi, Chief Secretary, Punjab, agreed with the viewpoint of LCCI president and said that local industry should not be treated with harsh laws in the present difficult situation. However, he observed, the environmental pollution had grown in the country as one of the serious problems which required to be resolved on war-footing.

He suggested that only such new industrial projects should be given loans which have in-built systems for pollution control.

He underlined that environmental pollution and human rights issue had maligned the country at international level and only by adopting concrete measures to resolve these issues Pakistan could improve its image before the other nations.

He laid emphasis on including NGOs in the proposed 'National Environmental Protection Council.'

Ch Siddique, Provincial Secretary, Housing and Physical Planning, also gave his comments on the 'Draft-Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1995'. He assured that while taking up his recommendations with the federal government for this 'Act', he would fully take the business community's proposals into account.

Tariq Hamid former president of the LCCI, said that the environmental pollution devices were highly expensive in the world market. Therefore, the government should allow duty-free import of such equipments, he added.

Sh Wahiduddin, SVP of the LCCI and Heads of LDA and WASA were also present in the seminar.