KARACHI: The Supreme Court-mandated commission on water and sanitation in the province on Tuesday deplored that the Karachi Fish Harbour was filled with filth and garbage, and directed the authorities concerned to immediately take measures to clean it.

Head of the commission retired apex court judge Justice Amir Hani Muslim also summoned the owners of all fish processing plants, situated at the Karachi Fish Harbour (KFH), on July 6 for not maintaining required standards and improper disposal of solid waste.

Justice Muslim, who visited the Karachi and Korangi fish harbours on Monday with relevant officials, observed that there was no mechanism for cleaning solid and liquid waste within and outside the Karachi harbour.

KPT told to utilise bare minimum area for a treatment plant and spare the remaining land for mangrove plantation

The post of managing director of the KFH had been lying vacant for the last several months. The commission was informed on Tuesday that the MD had been appointed by the provincial authorities and he would take charge on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Fishermen Cooperative Society chairman was also present during the visit and he informed the commission that they lacked funds and could not pay the authorities the 50 per cent due share.

On the other hand, the harbour authorities said they did not get salaries and pension of their employees because of scarcity of funds and, therefore, could not undertake to clean the harbour.

In these circumstances, in the first place, the commission said the harbour needed to be cleaned and solid waste and liquid waste should be disposed of as per environmental standards.

The commission asked its focal person, Asif Hyder Shah, to ensure that steps were immediately taken to clean the harbour and solid/liquid waste on the seashore by taking help from all the stakeholders whether from the provincial or federal government.

It also asked Mr Shah to interact with the stakeholders and with their consent submit a report to the commission on the issue of illegal jetties at both fish harbours.

Captain Rizwan Ahmed of Pakistan Navy informed the commission that fishing boats did not have the required standards provided for navigation.

The commission confronted harbour master Intekhab Hussain in this regard, but he failed to offer any plausible explanation.

When asked which authority regulates the navigation of boats, he conceded that it was the responsibility of the fish harbour authority, adding that the owners of boasts refused to maintain the required standards and the authority could suspend their navigation licence or permit forthwith, but such action had never been taken.

All the fishing boats were without the vessel monitoring system, a prerequisite providing safety in case of distress, but nobody followed it.

The commission was of the tentative view that the harbour authority was primarily responsible for it.

Korangi Fish Harbour

During their visit, the commission said that there appeared to be a serious dispute between the Fishermen Cooperative Society and the Korangi Fish Harbour as according to the FCS chairman the jurisdiction vested in the province while the fish harbour authority was being run by the federal government.

It was further stated that after devolution by amending the Constitution, the fisheries became a provincial subject and even otherwise the federal authorities could not regulate the fish harbour.

The commission observed that the issue needed to be attended and they intended to hear the matter and pass an order on it.

The commission has also seen industrial waste being directly thrown into the Korangi harbour, which was being discharged by two storm-water drains through the Export Processing Zone and Cattle Colony.

The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency informed the commission that there were six processing plants; three were functional and had their septic tanks and cesspools, and one processing plant could not be accessed.

Justice Muslim summoned the owner of the plant for July 6 to appear with an explanation.

KPT treatment plant

The commission directed the Karachi Port Trust to provide a concept paper/schematic design of a proposed treatment plant to the member for land utilisation, who would float a summary to the competent authority to earmark land for the plant.

It added that the KPT utilise the bare minimum area for a treatment plant and the remaining land be used for mangroves in consultation with the forest department.

Earlier, the commission was told that pursuant to its June 11 order, a series of consultative meetings were held by its focal person with the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), the board of revenue and other relevant authorities and, therefore, the KPT and the board of revenue had submitted reports.

It was further stated that out of around 124 acres earmarked for the proposed treatment plant, over 111 acres were free from superstructure.

It was contended in the reports that 62 acres had been allotted to private individuals in exchange by the Board of Revenue while six acres were reserved to develop a colony for officials of the National Accountability Bureau.

There was also litigation pending regarding the land in question between the KPT and BoR as well as the NLC on the issue of title, it added.

However, the KPT and BoR have already agreed not to contest the claim of title and it would be utilised for the benefit of the public.

The KPT also gave assurance to the commission that the capacity of the proposed treatment plant would be enhanced from 60mgd to 100mgd in two phases within two years.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2018