PESHAWAR—The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has intervened in a major environmental safety dispute to protect public health. Specifically, the court has placed an immediate ban on operating a newly built coal power plant in Kohat until further notice, following a legal petition against its construction.
According to the official written order, a two-member bench has directed the deputy director of legal affairs of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to form a specialized inspection team. This team must inspect the plant facilities in accordance with environmental rules and regulations.
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Furthermore, the court has ordered the EPA to submit its comprehensive inspection report within 15 days. Alongside this directive, the PHC has formally summoned responses from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, the EPA, and the Health Department regarding the project’s ecological impact.
Serious Violations and Proximity to Local Residents
During the preliminary hearings, petitioner’s counsel, Ali Gohar Durrani, Advocate, pointed out alarming zoning violations. He argued that the parent cement factory is situated just 200 meters from the residential settlement of Babri Banda, and now a coal power plant is being set up in the same vicinity.
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Undoubtedly, the move threatens to release dangerous emissions near local homes. Crucially, the court learned that the operators failed to obtain a mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Environmental Protection Agency before establishing the power plant. While the plant aims to generate electricity for the industrial cement unit, residents fear that running it will release heavy pollutants, causing severe health hazards.
Legal Safeguards for Public Health
Consequently, the high court’s written ruling strictly bars all involved parties from activating or operating the coal power plant until the next hearing. Judges emphasized that while the project serves industrial purposes, its current setup poses an unacceptable threat to the health and well-being of the surrounding population.
In conclusion, the judicial stay order halts any potential commercial operations at the site. The upcoming EPA inspection report will likely decide whether this industrial unit can ever legally run so close to a residential community.
