Sindh government has refused to install combined effluent treatment plants (CETP) in Landhi and Korangi industrial areas and told industrialists to do it themselves. Sindh Environment Secretary Dr Zulfiqar Shallwani, said it was mandatory for industrialists to treat their effluents and bring it within limits of National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS) before letting it out of their premises. He said under environment laws CETPs are industrialists’ responsibility. The government can allocate nothing for such projects.
And industrialists should fulfill their corporate responsibility and put up waste water treatment facility collectively for controlling industrial pollution. Sindh Environmental Protection Agency chief Naeem Mughal said industry and other stakeholders must fully abide by that law. The government can provide technical guidance and consultancy, if industries so wish, while industries not treating their effluents could face action for violating the law. Besides effluents, disposal of industrial solid waste is also required. Relevant civic agency could help here.
SEPA monitoring teams would visit industries to collect waste water samples to see if effluents are being properly treated. KATI had requested the government for help because individual industrialists did not have enough funds or space for treatment plants as CETPs need huge sums. They said that since the government had installed a CETP at Kotri, it should also help other industrial areas.
They said manufacturing costs were already moving up due to law and order situation, load shedding etc. And this makes sparing funds difficult.
