Untreated sewage dumping in sea to stop after April, vows DHA

The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Monday undertook before a Supreme Court-appointed judicial body that untreated sewage from DHA phases V, V Extension, VI and VIII will not be dumped into the sea after April next year.

The judicial commission investigating the non-provision of potable water, proper sanitation facilities and healthy environment to Sindh’s people was informed that sewage from the remaining phases will be treated through integration with the Treatment Plant-IV by 2020 and the DHA will bear the cost of the project.

The DHA also submitted a report endorsed by Task Force Member Syed Asif Haider Shah. Headed by Justice (retd) Amir Hani Muslim, the judicial body observed that the report will be taken on record, but it will be subjected to some modifications as ordered by the commission.

The judicial body directed the DHA to increase the capacity of the treatment plant in the Kublai Khan area to 2 million gallons a day (mgd) instead of 1.5mgd by April 30, 2019.

The commission said the integration of the sewerage systems of DHA phases I, II, II-Extension, VII and VII-Extension into the S-III Greater Karachi Sewerage Development Plan’s system should be carried out at the main trunk, subject to the satisfaction of the S-III project director.

Justice Amir Hani said that at a later stage, the DHA should separately take up the issue of getting the treated water back after meeting the requirements set by the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB).

The arrangements proposed by the DHA shall be subject to payment of dues of the KWSB for the facility provided by the water board through the main trunk of the Treatment Plant-IV, he added.

The commission said the DHA’s sewerage system will not be allowed to be integrated into other systems, either from the Treatment Plant-V or from any other plant, and the Authority should ensure that untreated sewage is not dumped into the sea or in any other system after the deadline mentioned in their report. Other cases

The judicial body said the increase in the supply of potable water will depend on the overall availability of the commodity in the KWSB’s system.

The commission directed the KWSB to issue notices to the cantonment boards where flow meters have not been installed, inclusive of the Military Engineer Services formations. The judicial body said the cantonment boards should clear all the pending arrears towards the water board within a month.

Justice Amir Hani issued notices to the federal energy secretary to discuss issues regarding electricity supply to water and sewerage projects in Karachi and other districts of the province.

He directed the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) factories without treatment plants to install them within three months, warning them that if they failed to comply with the order, the factories will be sealed. He also directed HM Extract and Ghee Mills to pay a penalty of Rs500,000 imposed by the PQA within 15 days.

Last month the judicial commission had issued the PQA chairman and the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) director general with notices after taking notice of the dumping of untreated industrial waste into the sea within the industrial zone of the Authority.

The PQA chairman briefed the judicial body on the three industrial zones within the limits of the Authority.

He said that the plots were allotted to the industries by the PQA on the condition that the industries would install pre-treatment plants before making the industries functional.

The chairman said that most of the industries that dumped untreated effluent directly into the sea do not have pre-treatment plants within their premises. He showed the commission different pipes through which untreated waste is dumped into the sea.

He said Orient Textiles, Denim Textile and Agha Steel had been penalised, but neither did they pay the penalty nor did they stop dumping untreated industrial effluent into the sea.

He also said that almost all the industries within the industrial zone of the PQA, in spite of being issued with notices by the Authority as well as Sepa, do not care about draining industrial waste directly into the sea.

The commission issued notices to all the industry owners who do not have pre-treatment plants installed to appear before the judicial body and explain their position on the dumping of untreated industrial effluent into the sea.