PESHAWAR: Over 60 per cent of key environmental monitoring equipment at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has become non-functional, severely hampering the province’s capacity to track air, water, and industrial pollution, according to an audit report for 2024-25.
The audit by the Auditor General of Pakistan, seen by HUM News English, found that 53 out of 85 critical instruments used for environmental analysis at the EPA’s main laboratory in Peshawar are either broken or outdated.
The report also highlighted that the EPA has failed to publish its annual environmental report for the past six years. Moreover, while a monitoring committee was set up to oversee environmental projects, there is no documentation or performance record to show whether it is active or effective.
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Despite legal responsibility, the agency has yet to notify any environmentally sensitive zones in the province. Nor has it finalised or enforced environmental quality standards — core requirements for any functional regulatory body.
Although KP introduced a Climate Change Policy in 2022 with adaptation and mitigation measures, the audit says implementation remains weak. While officials claim work is underway on 417 environmental projects, the agency has not shared adequate financial or progress records.
The audit recommended that all non-functional equipment be repaired immediately, annual reports be issued regularly, and sensitive zones formally notified. It also urged the EPA to define and enforce environmental quality standards across KP.
When contacted, EPA KP Director General Samiullah Khan acknowledged that many instruments had become unusable, partly due to unreliable power supply at the lab’s former location.
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He said the laboratory had now been shifted to the Forest Institute in Peshawar and efforts were underway to restore equipment functionality.
He added that some monitoring tools provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are active at the head office, and the province’s environmental tribunal is functional. Khan further revealed that a summary has been sent to the chief minister to designate Nathia Gali, Kalam, Naran, and six other tourist sites as environmentally sensitive areas.
“KP is the only province to have introduced a climate change policy along with a formal action plan,” he said.