Chitral River is fast becoming a dumping point due to the lack of proper sewerage system in the town.The Municipal Corporation, butchers, poultry dealers, automobile workshops, vegetable vendors and others openly dump their waste into the river and even local residents use the river as a convenient place to dispose off their household garbage. Carcasses of dead animals are also seen lying along the riverside, sending out foul smell and polluting the water.
It’s an unfortunate coincidence! Pakistan’s water resources are fast depleting due to climate change so are its development funds, that are shrinking every year. It makes the officials associated with water resources feel as if Pakistan may not build even a single large dam in 100 years.
Islamabad was supposed to release Rs120 billion for 18 water projects this financial year (2017-2018). However, it could release merely Rs36 billion! If the ratio of such release is computed then it will take 32 years to finish the job.
Secretary Water Resource division, Shamail Ahmad Khawaja shared his concerns with the Standing Committee on water resources led by MNA Khalid Hussain Magsi.
“With only Rs36 billion, it will take 14-32 years to complete these projects”, Khawaja said.The Council of Common Interests (CCI) has been recommended that all parties should approve water accord so that the reservoirs’ construction issue should be resolved on war-footings. For the year 2018-19, an allocation of Rs203 billion will be proposed, he says.
Besides scant funds diverted to water sector projects, cost escalations are also affecting the projects. For instance, the Bhasha Dam originally costing at US$12 billion has reached US$15 billion. For this project, the executors would require Rs120 billion in next financial year.
Aimed at ensuring cash flow for water projects, Water and Power Development Authority WAPDA has proposed to divert provinces’ Net Hydle Profit to constructing new dams and hydropower projects in the country.
The Balochistan High Court is displeased with the Mines and Minerals officials as they are avoiding to furnish details of the new contract for Saindak Copper and Gold Project. A division bench of the BHC, comprising Chief Justice Noor Miskani and Justice Hashim Kakar, is hearing a petition which is challenging the agreement between a Chinese Company and the federal government.
The Secretary and the Director General, Mines and Minerals abstained court proceeding which angered the bench. The officials also failed to submit an official reply on the petition. The petition came up for the regular hearing last week. The court censured both the officials for defying court proceedings and also for failure to respond to the petition filed in this connection.
Sana Baloch, a former Senator and a Central leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) is one of the petitioners in the case. He was personally present in the court. Deputy Advocate General Abdullah Khan Kakar and Assistant Advocate General Shahak Baloch represented the government. Chinese Company MCC which has been awarded the project was also represented in the court.
Sana Baloch has claimed that the mining lease of 1974 is concerned with copper only and there was no mention of gold. The Chinese company has already taken away 1600 kilograms of gold from the Saindak, he claims. The company did not fulfill its promise to establish a refinery separating gold from copper at the metal mining complex, Baloch said. He thought mining gold from the copper mines is illegal as it is not part of the lease.
The former Senator welcomed the government move to re-open the Saindak Lease Case for a review. He deplored that precious metals from Balochistan are being plundered at the cost of the poor people who are denied basic facilities of life and state services, including employment opportunities. Sana Baloch demanded cancellation of the lease to the Chinese company and called for open bidding at international level in which the poor people should be the real beneficiaries of economic development, mainly exploiting the precious metal mines of Balochistan.
The Sindh government has designed a Rs.400 billion worth program for provision of quality drinking water and to treat sewerage water before shoring up to the water bodies in the province.
The plan is an outcome of the pressure that came from the apex court hearing the petition on quality of drinking water in the province and also mixing of untreated hazardous water to the canal system and the sea. Apparently a robust program, which some may appreciate, is being termed as unrealistic even in the circles and some experts allege it is yet another effort to secure commission by officers who already ruined hundreds of water treatment schemes in the province.
A government officer who does not want to be named said there was no need to spend such a hefty sum of Rs.400 billion for that purpose as hundreds of schemes can be revived under operation and maintenance program—a head which has already sanctioned sums for spending. For instance, he revealed as many as 953 schemes stood closed in Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department whose total water related schemes numbered at 2300. These schemes does not include the ones in Karachi and Hyderabad.
Ironically, these 953 schemes all have infrastructure and other requisites available but remain non-functional due to bad governance. These schemes can easily be made functional rather than designing new ones, he claimed. Sindh has around 33 filter plants and of them 25 are closed. They can be revived rather than installing news ones.
An officer of a task force on water said there were 750 points all over the province where untreated and sewage water was being discharged into water bodies in Sindh. Of them, 300 points can be cured with Rs.700-800 million. This will address over 30 percent of the issue, he claims. If the government rehabilitates 4 major treatment plants which can be made functional with existing resources can resolve 50 percent of the issue, Shahab Usto who is the prime petitioner in the case says.
Looking at the hearings in the apex court, one can realize how this issue has transformed into one of major national issues. Never before this time has water quality been so ingrained into public consciousness in Pakistan especially in Sindh. Thus, this is for the very first time in the history that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has heard any issue on Sunday—the public holiday in Pakistan.
Usto said it is for the first time that all stakeholders are involved in the issue which encourages him that the issue would be resolved to a great extent.
High rise buildings Allowing construction of maximum six-storied buildings, the Supreme Court has strictly restrained the builders from raising more than six floors in any part of Karachi. The apex court bench, headed by the CJP and comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah was hearing a miscellaneous application of Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), requesting it to lift the ban on construction of high-rise buildings.
The apex court, while hearing the case pertaining to provision of pure drinking water and sanitation issues, in March 2017 had imposed a ban on construction of multi-storied building until the issues are resolved. ABAD in its application pleaded the court to lift its ban, maintaining that allotees of new projects were suffering as they could not be handed over possession of their flats or floors booked earlier. The lawyer, representing the builders’ association argued that there was no shortage of water in the city as the issue was only fair distribution.
High Commissioner of Canada Perry John Calderwood believes Pakistan and Canada have good potential to enhance cooperation in ICT, agriculture, energy and mining. Private sectors of both countries, views have to play the leading role in exploiting these opportunities.
Canada, he claimed was developed in oil and gas exploration and hydro and solar power and Pakistan could benefit from its expertise to improve its energy generation.
Addressing business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICC&I) he said Pakistan was a potential country for business and investment but Canadian investors were avoiding to visit Pakistan due to security concerns. However, he said the security situation had improved and he was hopeful the Canadian investors would explore Pakistan.
Khalid Iqbal Malik, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Pakistan and Canada enjoyed old friendly relations as they established diplomatic relations in 1947. However, bilateral trade of just over $1 billion in 2015 did not reflect the real potential of both countries. He said that trade in limited items was the main reason of low trade volume and stressed that both countries should focus on trade diversification to improve bilateral trade figure. He said that trade balance was in favor of Canada and it should enhance its imports from Pakistan as many Pakistan products could meet the needs of Canadian customers at affordable cost. He emphasized that Canadian businessmen should benefit from Pakistan’s IT-enabled services in animation and gaming, retail banking and finance, mobile content, document management and call centers.
ICCI President said that many sectors of Pakistan’s economy including oil and gas, infrastructure, power generation, information and communication technologies, mining, agro business, wood sector and science and technology offered great investment potential to Canadian companies and they should explore those sectors.
He said Pakistan needed more oil rigs and mining equipment to exploit its vast natural resources and Canada should take benefit of these opportunities. He said Canadian investors should also explore joint ventures and investment in CPEC projects in Pakistan. He said that Pakistani exporters have to face cumbersome visa formalities for attending trade fairs in Canada while its travel advisories discouraged Canadian business people from visiting Pakistan.
