KARACHI: At a high-level meeting held on Thursday, the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) was directed to frame rules banning industrial units without having the provision of an effluent treatment plant.

The meeting chaired by Adviser to the CM Sindh on Law, Environment, Climate Change, and Coastal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab, also the Sindh government’s spokesperson, was also attended by secretary of environment Mohammad Aslam Ghauri and Sepa director general Naeem Ahmad Mughal.

“Convened a meeting on making environmental laws more enforceable and transparent in their application and issued directions with regard to framing rules for making pre-treatment or effluent treatment plants (ETPs) necessary for all industries. No new industry will be established without ETPs,” Barrister Wahab stated in a Twitter message.

At the meeting, sources said, Sepa officials briefed the CM’s adviser about the performance of the department so far and the challenges it faced in law enforcement.

Barrister Wahab directed officials to frame rules in such a way that no delay occurred in their implementation and offenders were punished under the law.

Additionally, he also emphasised the need for environmental self-accountability and gradually enhancing the role of Sepa in law enforcement.

“Mr Wahab asked director general Sepa to immediately formulate guidelines for the treatment of industrial waste water so that there would be no delay in the process of disposal of industrial effluent,” said a Sepa spokesperson.

It is estimated that there are over 10,000 big and small industries in Karachi. The majority of them are not registered with the provincial environment authorities.

Most of these industrial units are located in seven industrial zones in different parts of Karachi such as the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate, Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Federal B Area, North Karachi and Port Qasim.

Currently, there is no proper mechanism in the city to manage any kind of waste, including medical waste and industrial effluent, the bulk of which goes directly into the sea without any treatment. The issue has been raised many times as the hazardous waste emitting toxic gases affects public health, destroys marine life and contaminates the food chain.

The environmental watchdog has been failing for decades to enforce its writ against the powerful industry.

The Supreme Court-mandated Water Commi­ssion (Dec 2016-Jan2019) took up this matter and carried out detailed surveys. The industry, including the owners of sugar mills and distilleries had given time-bound written undertakings to install pre-treatment plants, entailing contempt proceedings for defaulters, and sanctions under the SEPA Act.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2021