Stone-crushers in Swabi cry foul

SWABI: The owners of stone-crushing plants have criticised the government for its ‘selective approach’ by allowing some of them to operate their machines and sealing several others.

The district administration sealed 29 plants in the district four days back.

The officials asked the owners to seek no-objection certificates from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sources in the district administration said the police registered cases against the owners of the stone-crushing plants after these were sealed.

Deputy Commissioner Motasimbillah told this correspondent that the cases were being registered on the directives of the deputy inspector general of police.

He said the district administration had nothing to do with the registration of the cases.

The owners said that they approached the district administration after coming to know that some of the plants were functioning.

Naeem Khan, one of the owners, said: “The discriminatory approach is not acceptable to us. We are also citizens of this country. We should also be allowed to run our machines.”

Other owners also expressed similar views and opposed the ‘discriminatory’ policy of the government.

They warned that they would be forced to launch protest if the government didn’t change the discriminatory policy.

Our correspondent in Timergara adds: The district administration sealed two stone crushing plants and arrested eight persons for violating orders of ban on illegal stone crushing, officials said on Saturday.

They said Assistant commissioner Ashfaq Ahmad Khan along with Levies and police personnel raided stone crushing plants at Malakabad, Balambat, and ordered to seal the plants.

The first information report (FIRs) were also registered against owners of the stone crushing plants.

The two crushing plants at Malakabad were in operation in the dark at the night in clear violation of the district administration’s orders to ban all illegal crushing plants functioning without no objection certificates (NoC) from the district administration.