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Who should be blamed?
EVEN though the provisions of World Trade Organization came into force early this year, which stipulate that effluents be disposed of in the manner prescribed, Pakistani businessmen and industrialists have so far failed to take any interest in the proper handling of millions of gallons of untreated liquid waste coming out of industrial units each day.
Investigations made by Sci-tech World have revealed that local businessmen and exporters have generally been lethargic in implementing the WTO regulations that deal with environmental issues. Put differently, they have so far not taken worthwhile measures to set in place a system for proper handling of effluents in order to avoid actions that could see a suspension of exports to various foreign destinations.
Because foreign buyers are yet to inform them of a deadline to meet their environmental obligations, local businessmen as well as authorities feel inclined towards attaching secondary importance to this very important issue. Even when foreign buyers show their intention of visiting the industrial areas during their stay in Pakistan, some sources told Sci-tech World, clever businessmen arrange meetings in the safe confines of hotels because random visits to the industrial zones could create a bad impression on would-be buyers. In the absence of a deadline, some industrialists are also busy in trying to get an extension from WTO on this vital issue.
Meanwhile, some leading businessmen realize fully that a new post-quota era has dawned after Jan 1 and requirements put forth by western countries are set to become particularly stringent. Therefore, it is high time that effluent treatment plants are built in the industrial areas. Nevertheless, progress on this front has been very slow.
Many industrialists blame the federal and provincial governments for being “complacent.” However, their contention does not hold much water, as they should be blamed equally for a lack of progress in this area. In many countries businesses follow good practices on their own.
Out of a total of 350million gallons per day of waste from Karachi that finds its way into the sea, the share of the city’s industrial estates is estimated at around 100million gallons per day. The share of Site industrial area — comprising about 3,000 units — stands at 40million gallons per day, of which 90 per cent comes from industrial units and 10 per cent from residential colonies. All of the liquid waste falls into Lyari River from where it goes to the sea.
An effluent treatment plant having the capacity to handle 40million gallons per day of industrial waste has been planned, which would be set up at TP-III Mauripur with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank. “I think that the project will take at least one year to complete,” remarked Chairman of the Site Association of Industry, Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, linking the slow pace of progress on the project to a lack of effort on the part of federal and provincial authorities.
He says foreign buyers and top chains of departmental stores have been given assurances frequently that efforts have been accelerated in Pakistan to tackle the issue on a priority basis. An effluent treatment plant cannot be set up on an individual basis, as its cost is prohibitively high, says Dr Baig.
The only way to deal with the situation is to have a combined treatment plant, costing about Rs2.6 billion. He adds that the said project is proposed to have a 70:30 equity basis, but the association has proposed one at 80:20 basis.
The treatment plant is proposed to be set up on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis, while treatment charges are to be recovered from the industries, he says. A few leading exporters are in the process of establishing their own treatment plant, adds Dr Baig.
In contrast to what Dr Baig says, the Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Jehangir Khan Tarin, a few weeks ago expressed his dismay over the slow pace of work on the proposed treatment plant project in Site area.
Let us move to the Korangi industrial area now, which comprises 2,500 textile, leather tanning and other units that release million of gallons of untreated industrial waste every day, as government regulators look on helplessly. “We do not have any drainage system for industrial waste. That is why industrialists are bound to release the waste outside their units,” says Abdul Haseeb Khan, Chairman of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI). He does not mention figures at all.
“Nobody is bothered about the situation which is gaining alarming proportions with the passage of time,” he says, adding that government initiatives have largely remained confined to newspapers.
In the Federal ‘B’ Industrial Area, about 7.5million gallons a day of effluents comes out from 150 of the 2,000 units situated there. The waste matter is dumped in the Lyari River through sewerage lines.
Chairman of the environment and taxation committee of the F ‘B’ Area Association of Trade and Industry says more solid waste comes out of these units than effluents. Serious steps to establish an effluent treatment plant have not been taken so far. “Progress has so far been made on papers only,” he says. Real progress is still not on the cards because of undue governmental involvement and lack of funding from the authorities.
Secretary of the North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry, M.S. Khan Warsi, offers a surprising viewpoint, claiming that only 5 per cent of the liquid waste comes from dyeing and bleaching units. “A treatment plant of KMC has been out of commission for over a decade,” he says, adding that the city district government, Nespak and National Highway Authority have been negotiating with industrialists on environmental issues.
The writer works as a reporter for Dawn
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