Daily Times

KARACHI: The judicial commission, appointed by the Supreme Court to inquire into water woes and poor sanitation conditions, has issued show-cause notices to Sindh chief secretary, secretaries of health, irrigation, public health engineering to submit their explanation for failing to comply with the Supreme Court’s directions.

Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, who headed the commission, directed the chief secretary to submit their explanation on July 01, “as to why proceedings for willful contempt of court orders should not be initiated against you for your failure to comply with the apex court’s orders within the stipulated time.

Those who have been put on notice include Sindh chief secretary, secretary irrigation, health secretary, secretary industries, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board managing director, SITE managing director, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) DG, Solid Waste Management Board, and Karachi Port Trust chairman.

Following the Supreme Court orders the commission of inquiry headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro had conducted the inquiry into the shortage of safe drinking water and poor sanitation conditions across the province and submitted his 130-page report within six weeks.

According to the commission’s report, the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) had taken 300 water samples from different districts of the province for testing and found that water was unsafe for human consumption.

The commission said that it was now established that the people of the province were not drinking potable water. The Indus River, its tributaries and channels, which are sources of drinkable water, have been polluted by constant drainage of untreated sewage from houses and industries into the river.

It said inefficiency, lack of interest and corrupt practices of the officials, the filter plants have been rendered almost redundant.

It had pointed out that the provincial and civic agencies had miserably failed to deliver, drinkable water supply, sewerage and solid waste management services throughout the province.

Taking great exception to the abysmal situation of shortage of drinkable water and poor sanitation facilitates, the Supreme had formed a task force to implement its orders and the commission’s recommendations.

The court had directed the Sindh chief secretary to set up a committee to make all filter and treatment plants fully operational and ensure chlorination of water, setting up of computerized laboratories and deployment of trained staff to test the quality of water.

The water utility’s head was ordered to immediately make Shershah and Mauripur sewage treatment plants operational and take steps to rehabilitate another plant whose land was stated to have been encroached upon.

It had also directed the chairman of Karachi Port Trust, KWSB managing director and Sindh Solid Waste Management Boards director to personally examine all water channels/drains that bring and discharge effluents and solid waste into the harbour and the Karachi coast and devise practical, inexpensive and immediate measures from their existing budgets to prevent the pollution of the harbour and the Karachi coast.

It directed the health department to ensure the machinery for safe disposal of hospital waste was made functional in all hospitals.

Published in Daily Times, June 23rd, 2017.