KARACHI: The Supreme Court has told Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to submit by the first week of January next year his report specifying cut-off dates for ensuring supply of potable water and management of proper sewerage system, it emerged on Saturday when the SC’s order on the water pollution case was released for publication.

Headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, a three-judge bench had on Dec 6 heard the chief minister at length and asked him to inform the court about the steps his government intended to take to resolve the issues of potable water and management of municipal, industrial and hospital waste in the province.

The bench ordered: “In the circumstances, we feel that this sensitive issue of supplying potable water and discharge of sewerage throughout the province into a proper developed sewerage system could only be managed once the chief minister of Sindh places on record detailing the targeted dates for addressing the following issues:

i) District-wise report specifying a cut-off date on which all points from where municipal, hospital and industrial sewerage is discharged in the ultimate source of clean water, may it be river Indus, its canals or any other source, are plugged;

ii) A district-wise report with a cut-off date as to when a proper sewerage system along with treatment plants will be installed/made operational in all the districts of Sindh, including a proper source for discharge of treated sewerage. All projects planned by the government in that pursuit shall be stated district-wise with their cut-off dates for completion;

iii) A cut-off date by which all existing treatment plants are made functional to their full capacity to ensure discharge of treated sewerage from the city of Karachi into the sea;

iv) A fresh report in respect of K-4, S-III and the extent of work completed so far in percentage and the expected date of completion.

v) A district-wise report showing the plans with their cut-off date for ensuring sufficient uncontaminated water for every district according to its population.”

The bench ordered the CM to submit his report within four weeks and adjourned the matter to a date in the fourth week of January 2018.

During the hearing, the bench told the CM that the present proceedings were undertaken to ensure supply of clean drinking water to the inhabitants of the province and the disposal of municipal, hospital and industrial waste after proper treatment.

The CM was informed that failure to provide safe water and disposal of waste without treatment had polluted subsoil water and led to outbreaks of several waterborne diseases such as hepatitis C, skin diseases and other related ailments.

A documentary prepared by the petitioner regarding a survey showed the discharge of sewage into the Indus contaminating its various canals and tributaries which were the source of clean water.

After seeing the video, the chief minister presented the provincial government’s version and the efforts made by him to ensure measures to improve the supply of potable water.

The CM said the state of affairs depicted in the video was not a true reflection of the present state of affairs, as a lot of improvements had been made since then.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2017