Dubai Municipality has recorded a 47 per cent decrease in environmental violations committed by industrial establishments in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.
Alia Al Harmoudi, director of the environment department in the municipality, said most of these violations were related to obtaining environmental permits and protection of air from pollution.
She said the percentage of violations with regards to obtaining environmental permits was 55 per cent from January to June 2018 compared to the same period last year, while violations related to the protection of air from pollution decreased by 24 per cent between January and June 2018 compared to the same period last year.
Al Harmoudi said that 444 environmental permits have been issued for industrial and service projects in the first half of this year.
"As for infrastructure projects, the number of environmental permits issued in the first half of this year increased up to 60 per cent compared to the same period in 2017. There has been a 140 per cent increase in the number of permits for storage of dangerous goods for the first half of this year, which amounted to 397 compared to 164 of 2017," she added.
She revealed that the department has implemented a series of policies and procedures during the current year, through which the municipality had many achievements related to enhancing environmental performance in the emirate. She added that these are in line with the objectives of the department aimed at achieving environmental sustainability and supporting all environmental policy areas included in the UAE Vision 2021.
