ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee has claimed that the rate of environmental degradation across the country is putting people’s lives at risk.

A subcommittee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights said on Tuesday that the neglect

of nature and natural resources had caused an environmental crisis in the country.

Committee members argued that development had come at the expense of the environment and public health, and observed that air and water quality in many cities and villages were below international health standards.

The subcommittee met to discuss measures taken to control pollution generated by industries in Hattar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.

Limited resources a challenge for provincial environmental depts

The committee’s concerns were augmented by unsatisfactory responses from provincial government officials, who, at best, said their offices were doing their utmost with limited resources.

Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Additional Director General Waqar Hussain told the committee the environment was not a priority for the government. Starting from marine pollution, Mr Hussain listed environmental problems that included solid waste collection and disposal issues and 14,000 industrial units in Karachi that were adding to the 450 million gallons of waste water discharged into the Malir and Lyari rivers every day.

“Lack of staff, funds and support from the district management – besides several other factors – all make the jobs of environmentalists harder by the day,” he said.

The situation in Punjab is no less dire, according to Punjab Director Environment Nasimur Rehman, who said at least Rs100 billion are required to treat waste water in Lahore alone.

“It will take another five years before all the big and small leather factors pollution water sources in Sialkot shift to the under-construction industrial tannery zone,” Mr Rehman said.

He hinted that it was unlikely that the people of Sialkot would see any relief until all the factors were moved from the city to the industrial zone.

Mr Rehman also identified the plastics industry as a significant problem.

“Plastic-making is the second largest industry, after textiles, in the country. It is impossible to shut it down completely. Hundreds of thousands of livelihoods are connected to this industry. There are 600 plastic-making units in Lahore alone, and thousands in Punjab,” he said.

“Plastic bags that can last up to 400 years are major reasons for the blockage of sewerage systems,” he said.

He also informed the committee that increasing the cost of producing plastic bags and introducing biodegradable bags that dissolve in three to five months could discourage the use of plastic bags.

Solid waste collection and disposal is also a challenge, due to a lack of funds and resources, he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Munaza Hussain was critical of emissions from steel factories in and around Lahore that affected breathing and caused the smog last year. Mr Rehman told her the mills had been directed to install devices that controlled the amount of poisonous emissions from their chimneys.

Officials from KP’s environmental departments suggested planting more trees to cleanse the air of pollutants, particularly around industrial zones.

Balochistan, where there are fewer industrial units compared to other parts of the country, also had its share of environmental concerns.

Quarrying, emissions, an absence of sewage treatment plants and the coal industry were some of the main causes of air and water pollution in Balochistan.

A report presented by officials from the Balochistan environment department also said that entire crops of vegetables that were irrigated by sewage were flattened by the local government.

Clean drinking water remains a major problem for the entire province, environmental experts from Balochistan said.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2018