LAHORE, June 1: Being unsatisfied with a reply by the Environment Protection Department about the industries throwing waste into the Ravi, the Lahore High Court Green Bench on Friday summoned the environment secretary.

A department’s director presented a list of 1,245 industries disposing of their waste into the river. He said the EPD visited these industries and also served notices on them. He said there were more industries and the EPD was collecting their details.

At this, Punjab Advocate General Ashtar Ausaf said all the 1,245 numbers mentioned by the department did not fall under the definition of industries.

In response to a bench’s query, the EPD director said there were more than 50 different technologies for waste water treatment. However, he failed to tell about their cost and manufacturers and requested for more time to gather details in this regard.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah expressed his dismay over poor knowledge of the director about the issues directly linked to the environment department. He also remarked that the attitude of the officer reflected that the Environment Protection Department was not taking the issue seriously.

He directed the officer to bring suggestions about home grown technology available at cheaper rates.

Meanwhile, counsel for petitioners submitted a list of 12 names for a commission to be made on the issue. However, the AG expressed his reservations and suggested the bench that the commission must comprise five to seven members.

The judge honoured the suggestion and asked the petitioner’s counsel to pick out five to seven names for commission members after having deliberations with stakeholders.

He adjourned further hearing till June 8.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Pakistan Environmental Law Association and the Lahore Conservation Society challenging disposal of waste into the Ravi.

Petitioners submitted the Ravi was a perennial river and was the smallest of the five main eastern rivers of the Indus. They said it was the most polluted river in Pakistan and one of the most polluted rivers in the world. They said the river received wastewater at points, including pumping stations of Shadbagh, Shahdara, Main Outfall Road, Babu Sabu (Gulshan Ravi), Multan Road, Deg Nullah and Hadiara Drain.

They said the problem of environment pollution due to toxic metals had begun to cause concerns in more areas where water for irrigation was becoming scarce and people were using drain water for this purpose.

They urged the court to direct the departments concerned to fulfill their responsibilities and provide sewerage treatment facility that would bring the wastewater discharges into the river.