| ISLAMABAD - A decision on a permanent landfill site for the capital city could not be taken again as the city managers have deferred the respective agenda till the next meeting of CDA board on Tuesday. It is a dark spot on the performance of successive managements and the incumbent one as well that they have failed to find a permanent solution for the waste disposal of a sole planned city of the country, which is also the federal capital. The board discussed a halfbaked summary and decided to get further technical input from the consultant to get finalized a permanent location for the landfill site. A committee headed by Deputy Director General (DDG) Planning Zafar Iqbal and comprising DDG Sanitation Rafia Haider, Director Sanitation Malik Atta, Director Regional Planning Faraz Malik was working on the subject but it could not reach a conclusion. Sources informed that two potential sites at Kuri and Dhoke Jando near Nicholson’s Monument are under discussion; the details of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and the clearance certificates for the sites are being solicited. It is pertinent to mention here that the Islamabad High Court is set to hear a case in this regard on 7th February and the CDA is required to submit its reply about steps being taken for setting up a proper landfill site in the capital. In the last hearing, the court had directed the city managers to at least document an interim arrangement for disposal of waste at a dumping site owned by the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company at Losar, Chak Beli Khan in Rawalpindi. However, sources said that a final agreement could not be reached with the RWMC as well because its representatives have demanded a very high rate of Rs.1800 per ton to dispose of the waste of Islamabad. The board has directed the concerned committee to negotiate the rates with RWMC and finalize a draft agreement for its approval till the next board meeting. Currently, the CDA is disposing of solid waste at a dumping site owned by the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company at Losar, Chak Beli Khan in Rawalpindi. Earlier, the civic agency used to dump garbage in the residential sector of I-12 and then attempted to shift the temporary landfill site to H-16. However, the court directed the civic agency to shift it outside the residential areas. The court last year also directed the CDA to ensure that “no waste is dumped in temporary sites in residential areas in Islamabad with effect from 04-10-2022.” Then the CDA moved towards the Chak Beli area on a temporary basis. However, now the civic agency is planning to have its own landfill site. On the recommendations of an international consultant, the CDA had selected a site at Kuri. An access road was also constructed to the site but all of a sudden, in 2011, the CDA and the environment body decided to shelve the project. Sources alleged that the CDA dropped the idea of setting up a landfill site in Kuri to appease owners of housing schemes. Since then, the civic agency has been shifting the temporary landfill site from one place to another. |
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