Muzaffarabad: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted as many as 54 stone-crushing plants to continue their operations after complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) established by the concerned legal and other departments, according to news published on October 20.
The said permission was given by the full court bench of AJK Supreme Court which included; Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan, Justice Raza Ali Khan, Justice Khawaja Mohammad Naseem, and Justice Younas Tahir. The court also ordered the AJK Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the provincial industries and minerals department to complete and submit a detailed report on the matter of SOPs’ compliance by the plants in 10 days.
The court observed that it acknowledges the concerns of the developers and contractors related to delays being caused by the plants’ suspended operations, however, the court considers human health to be of greater importance. The chief justice maintained that violation of SOPs by the crushing plants was deteriorating the environment, overburdening the stretched health facilities and causing loss to the national exchequer in many respects.
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