KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday conditionally allowed an importer to dump 20,000 metric tons the coal at the Karachi Port Trust’s coal terminal.
Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who headed the division bench, directed the importer to ensure that the coal is removed from the terminal within 15 days.
Applicant Awan Trading Company (Private) Limited moved the court, submitting that a vessel carrying over 50,000 metric tons of the coal has arrived at the Karachi Port. A vessel carrying over 40, 000 metric ton coal cannot berth at Port Qasim, therefore, if it is once allowed to lighten its weight approximately 20,000 metric tons, it can sail into the berth at Port Qasim.
Therefore, the counsel for the applicant requested the court to allow the applicant to dump 20, 000 metric tons of the coal at KPT’s coal handling facility.
Earlier, the bench while hearing a petition against KPTs coal terminal for posing serious threats to the health of the area’s residents and causing marine pollution had directed KPT authorities to adopt various preventive measures to ensure minimum eruption of dust from the terminal.
It further ordered them to ensure that the premises where the coal was kept, as well as the vehicles transporting the coal, should be completely covered.
Observing that the terminal is located in close proximity to the densely populated area, the Court directed the KPT to allow importers to offload only 15,000 metric tons of the coal for only 15 days at the terminal in order to lighten the weight of vessels for their sailing into berth at Port Qasim where the rest of the coal would be offloaded. The judges observed that meager storage charges are inducing people to store coal for longer period of time which is causing pollution and effecting public at large. Therefore, they said, they feel that some stringent measures be put in place to compel importers to remove stored coal within shortest possible time.
The Court had ordered imposition of penalty of Rs 20 per metric ton per day upon failure of the importers to remove the coal within 20 days of storage. The penalty should be recovered and deposited with the Nazir of the Court.
