June 24, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 19, 1429

RAWALPINDI, June 23: The clean drinking water programme of the federal government is unlikely to achieve the target it set for the installation of filtration plants in the country, as only 4,500 plants are likely to be installed against the target of 6,035 plants during 2007-08.

A review of the installation of filtration plants showed not much progress on the approved policy of having one filtration plant in each union council.

The utilisation of funds remained very low against MTDF targets, when only 440 water filtration plants were established against a target of 646 during 2005-07.

This performance is despite the fact that the installation of filtration plants has been taken over by the Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiatives from the Ministry of Environment.

The provision of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and personal hygiene are vital for the sustainable environmental conditions and reducing the incidence of diarrhoea, malaria, trachoma, hepatitis A and B and morbidity levels.

Not having access to water and sanitation is a deprivation that threatens life, destroys opportunity and undermines human dignity. Thus, investing in the provision of safe water supply and adequate sanitation is not only a development oriented strategy, it can also yield other socio-economic benefits in terms of improved health status, quality of labour force and reduced burden-of-disease.

A report of the Planning Commission said inadequate water and sanitation services to the poor increased their living costs, lowered their income earning potential, damaged their wellbeing and made life riskier. The majority of population in the country is exposed to hazards of drinking unsafe and polluted water and inadequate sanitation.

The report said continuing urbanisation, growing population and increasing industrialisation had increased water consumption and correspondingly generated higher volumes of waste-water and solid waste.

Most of the waste-water is not treated and the expansion of the urban water supply schemes without treatment facilities at source is a threat to human health and natural environment.

The report said drinking water supply coverage increased from 65 per cent (55 rural and 85 urban) to 67.3 per cent (56.3 rural and 87 urban), during 2005-07. Sanitation and drainage coverage increased from 42 per cent (30 rural and 65 urban) to 43.3 per cent (31.3 rural and 63.3 urban) during 2005-07.

Under “Clean Drinking Water Initiative (CDWI)”, costing Rs495 million, one water purification plant (WPP) in each tehsil in the country, including Azad Kashmir, Northern Areas and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) is to be installed.