HYDERABAD: Retired Jus­tice Amir Hani Muslim, new head of the Supreme Court-mandated water commission, on Monday reprimanded officers concerned over dilapidated state of water supply and sewerage installations.

He directed Hyderabad Dev­elo­pment Authority (HDA) and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) to protect their water and sewerage facilities from encro­a­chers and asked Hyder­abad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) to ensure uninterrupted power supply to drinking water facilities.

Justice Muslim had a seven-hour tour of the city during which he inspected storage facilities, Wasa’s Darya Khan pumping station as well as northern and western treatment plants, Phulelli canal and 30MGD filtration plant.

The former judge was accompanied during the visit by chairman of Task Force Jamal Mustafa Syed, who is also secretary of irrigation, Sindh chief secretary’s focal person Dr Saeed Qureshi, Wasa’s managing director Masood Jumani, water technologist Dr Ahsan Sid­di­qui, Hyderabad deputy commissioner Saleem Rajput, water commission’s registrar Ghulam Mustafa Channa, Hyderabad mayor, SSP Pir Mohammad Shah and other officers concerned.

When Wasa MD informed the judge that functioning of water supply facilities, especially 30MGD plant, was disrupted by frequent power outages, he asked a senior officer of Hesco “I want uninterrupted power supply to all water facilities as I am not interested in discussing procedural details”.

He asked Wasa MD to follow it up with required documentation. Later, the Hesco officer told the judge that the main filtration plant’s power source was being connected with an independent feeder.

Mr Jumani informed the judge that rehabilitation of 30MGD plant would be completed by June and admitted that the plant did not ensure supply to optimum level.

The former judge visited Wasa lagoons in Karan Shoro village where water was stored after being lifted from combined channel of Kotri barrage.

He was told that proposal for a de-silting scheme was submitted but it was turned down by the government. He asked the MD to resubmit the schemes, including the one for rehabilitation of the third lagoon.

Mr Jumani said that rehabilitation of three lagoons would increase retention time of water and would provide a cushion to Wasa during annual closure of barrage which forced the utility to resort to rationing of available supplies.

The judge directed Hyder­abad deputy commissioner to ensure security around lagoons and ban fishing in them and asked him to submit to the commission details of the Rs2.6 billion the provincial and federal government departments owed to Wasa.

Judge finds cattle carcasses in Phuleli

Justice Hani became visibly upset after witnessing carcasses of animals giving off overpowering stench of decomposing flesh floating in Phuleli canal.

“Will you drink this water?,” he asked HMC’s municipal commissioner Shahid Ali. The city mayor conceded HMC’s failure in solid waste management.

Justice Hani talked to Member Land Utilisation (LU) Aftab Memon over phone regarding landfill site, asking him to appear before him in Karachi and said that allocation of Rs50bn by chief minister for water and sewerage sectors showed government’s willingness.

MD Wasa disclosed that there were plans to divert municipal waste going into Phuleli canal to eastern sewerage treatment plant through a drain but it would take two years.

“How many people would have died by then,” Justice Muslim equipped.

At Hala Naka filter plant, MD said that it was providing settled water to people and needed rehabilitation. A group of women protested before the judge and said they were being harassed by civil administration in the name of the apex court.

Hyderabad DC showed a correspondence to Justice Muslim which was addressed to Sindh chief secretary through divisional commissioner, seeking 200 acres land for those who were being displaced from banks of irrigation canals in the light of the water commission’s directives for demolition of encroachments from canal dykes.

“Policy for alternate places and compensation should be uniform. If some people have valid registered properties these pro­per­ties can be acquired. The mat­ter can be taken up with relevant authorities, he said.

Judge voices dissatisfaction with Pak Oasis

At Darya Khan pumping station, Justice Hani said that municipal waste could be diverted to facultative ponds of Wasa from where farmers could purchase the water for irrigation of their land.

The industrial effluent should, however, be segregated before it fell into Phuleli canal and it could also be diverted to the ponds for usage in horticulture sector.

Even the sludge could be used as organic manure in cultivation, said the judge and asked SITE secretary Imdad Shah as to why in-house treatment plants were not established in factories.

Sindh Environmental Protec­tion Agency (Sepa) director general said that 155 cases of violation of environmental laws were sent to environmental tribunal to which Justice Hani expressed surprise why out of thousands of industrial units only 155 cases were sent to the tribunal.

“You have not even visited Nooriabad where untreated effluent falls into the K.B. Feeder. I have seen it. Do you know how many people are dying in Thatta due to this effluent,” he asked.

He observed that authorities did not need such huge infrastructure for treating municipal waste and their schemes appe­ar­ed ill conceived. After a briefing on pilot project of Pak Oasis for effluent, he said “it is known to all and sundry what Pak Oasis has done in the rest of Sindh. I am not satisfied with them.”

DG HDA admonished

HDA director general Badar Jamil Mandhro drew flak from Justice Hani for his absence. He was told by an official that the DG was facing a case in National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“You (HDA) are converting land. I want Wadhu Wah rehabilitated and all sewerage points closed,” the judge told the DG, who finally joined him after being summoned. “Should HMC take over HDA or should HDA be dissolved?” he asked him.

The judge visited the western sewerage treatment plant in Qasimabad. He scaled over facultative pond’s bank to see encroachment around it by the area people and found a cattle pen set up inside it after breaching the bank.

He told HDA MD that sewage should not be disposed of into the river directly and be diverted to ponds for some sort of treatment. “The pond’s bank be rehabilitated. A representative of municipal committee Qasim­abad should be asked to appear before him in Karachi. Not a single inch of the pond’s land should be occupied while the area under encroachment should be got vacated. If you don’t use the ponds then a housing scheme will emerge there soon,” he told the MD.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018