Government cracks the whip on 60 firms for violating pollution rules

Protect the environment or suffer the consequences. This is a time when more emphasis is being placed on green initiatives and earth-friendly construction activities.

Qatar’s Industrial Inspection Department (IID) at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment has swung into action to ensure that buildings in Qatar stick to accepted green norms.

The IID, between 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, issued warnings to 60 companies for violating environment protection specifications.

“We conduct inspection visits at least twice a year to measure carbon emission and require big companies to put emission monitoring devices in place,” Ali Abdullah Al Marri, Director of the department, told The Peninsula.

The department also issued more than 190 permits to operate in the first quarter of this year and over 600 last year.

Al Marri said they check violations related to environment protection and work site environment which include the percentage of pollution, use of sewage water for irrigation, proportion of pollutants, workers’ safety, and the quality of water discharged into the sea.

“In case of small companies, we focus only on the internal working environment such as workers’ safety and special clothes they’ve to wear because there’s no emission.

“In case of big companies and factories, we focus on the measurement of emissions. Cases involving some companies have been referred to public prosecution for violating the law regulating environment protection,” he added.

The ministry does not grant or renew a company’s permit to operate unless it complies with requirements for environment protection.