Kuwait’s top court rules residential suburb harmful
Final verdict is attributed to high levels of industrial pollution
Cairo: Kuwait’s top court has ruled that a residential area in the country is unfit for people to live in due to pollution caused by factories there, local media report.
The court, citing a report compiled by a committee of experts, said that the area of Umm Al Hayman in Al Ahmadi governorate in eastern Kuwait, showed high levels of pollution harmful to people.
The ruling, which is final, was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by a local in Umm Al Hayman also known as the Ali Sabah Al Salem suburb.
The verdict can be generalised to benefit the suburb’s residents estimated at around 56,000, Kuwaiti media said.
“How will the government react to the ruling?” asked Al Rai newspaper. “Will it pay compensation to the Umm Al Hayman residents and offer them alternative housing? Or will it opt for the easiest solution of relocating the industrial zone?”
According to the same paper, the government is likely to get compensation requests from residents who have suffered from pollution-caused diseases.