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| Friday, 24 September 2004 |
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by Florence Wickramage People who come by vehicles and dump garbage along road will be dealt with according to the law if detected and arrested by the Mobile Special Police Task Force. Environment and Natural Resources Minister A. H. M. Fowzie said the Special Enforcement Unit which came into operation on September 21, has been empowered to arrest and detain wilful violators of the law who pollute the environment. Their vehicles will be retained at the police station until a court order is received. The Task Force will be on duty throughout the day. Fowzie said people are in the habit of dumping garbage at places where notice boards have been erected prohibiting the dumping of garbage. The Minister said most defaulters are people of means and positions and who are well aware of the laws. On the Minister's instructions, special notice boards "Prohibiting garbage dumping' have been already installed at several places along the Japan Friendship Road at Battaramulla, Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, adjoining roads and environmentally preserved areas. Fowzie appealed to the public to be on the look out for people who dump garbage by the roadsides, note their vehicle numbers and to get in touch immediately with the Mobile Task Force on duty or contact the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry or the Raids Unit of the Central Environmental Authority. Meanwhile, CEA Chairman Tilak Ranaviraja said the new Enforcement Unit has been created to give more teeth and effectiveness to existing environmental laws. The Enforcement Unit will work in close cooperation with the police and will liaise with other agencies such as the Urban Development Authority, the Road Development Authority and the Land Reclamation Board. In relation to industries, the CEA has already set out minimum standards which have to be met before the actual disposal of waste. |
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