KARACHI: The Supreme Court-appointed water commission on Monday imposed a blanker ban on all construction activity in Defence Housing Authority and Clifton until the resolution of a dispute of territorial limits of the two authorities.
Justice Amir Hani Muslim observed during the hearing that construction activity had been undertaken in the military-run housing societies without proper planning or guidelines.
When he asked the additional defence secretary about the exact number of residents in DHA, the latter could not come up with an exact figure but said that the number would be above 500,000. The additional secretary was also unable to specify the exact number of business and commercial centres in the area.
Regarding the state of solid waste management infrastructure, the water commission was told that a plan was under development for the construction of Mehmoodabad Treatment Plant.
Agitated on the authority’s failure to put in place a water treatment plant, Justice Muslim said there should be an inquiry to fix responsibility in the matter.
The water commission was told that 580 million gallons of untreated water was being dumped in the sea every year from the territorial limits of the DHA. Measures were sought to ensure that water was treated for contaminants before it was dumped in the sea by the end of June next year.
Earlier, a report was submitted to the commission claiming that two treatments plants were under construction in Phases I and VIII of DHA, with the latter having the capability to treat 2.4 million gallons of water per day (mgd).
When the water commission was told that between five and six mgd of water was being consumed within the housing authority’s limits, it retorted that the figure did not factor in water being supplied through tankers and other sources. He urged the authority to take stock of its responsibilities and to enhance its capacity to provide at least 10 mgd through its water treatment plants.
During the hearing on Monday, the commission also ordered to halt construction of a 12-inch water pipeline from North Nazimabad to Kati Pahari in view of a complaint that the district Central’s deputy commissioner, Asif Jan, had forced the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to build the line.
Rejecting the claim, a water board official said that the line was being laid because the Pahar Ganj area at times remained deprived of water for up to 12 days.
The KWSB managing director conceded during the hearing that hundreds of thousands of illegal water connections continued to exist in the city. The commission ordered appropriate action and sought a report on remedial measures.
A water board official also complained that the board was facing issues accessing cantonment areas, including the Malir Cantonment, due to which some pumping stations in those localities did not have meters installed. The commission then ordered Malir Cantonment authorities to appoint a focal person to deal with the issue and asked the relevant cantonment boards and DHA to bear all expenses of installation of meters at their respective pumping stations.
The hearing was adjourned until June 11.
Published in Daily Times, June 5th 2018.