ISLAMABAD: The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) on Wednesday told a Senate committee that it has only been able to clean half the nullahs in the capital city due to limited resources.

Chief Metropolitan Officer Syed Najaf Iqbal told the Senate Committee on Climate Change that his department will start cleaning nullahs choked with municipal garbage soon.

The committee had met for a briefing on measures taken by the MCI for cleaning nullahs before the monsoon season.

No one has ever taken ownership of Islamabad to make it clean, green, CMO says

The committee expressed displeasure over the inefficiency of the MCI for not clearing the drains of garbage before the start of monsoons.

“Islamabad does not feel green at all. There is filth everywhere especially in the nullahs” said committee chairman, Awami National Party Senator Sitara Ayaz.

Responding to this criticism, Mr Iqbal said: “The problem with Islamabad is that no one has ever taken ownership of the city to make it clean and green. Islamabad does not feel like a capital city. There have been no beautification projects in the last 30 years. No efforts have been made to increase water sources in Islamabad since the 1970s.”

He emphasized that the government needs to invest in the environment.

“The MCI’s job will become a lot easier if it had the proper equipment and manpower and does not have to function on funding borrowed from the Capital Development Authority,” he said.

The discussion then moved to Islamabad’s water shortage problem. Mr Iqbal drew the committee’s attention towards the old and broken water pipelines that need to be replaced.

“Islamabad is getting half the water it requires and half of that is wasted due to leaks in the old, broken pipelines. I have said the same in the Supreme Court as well,” the senior official said.

Replacing the main lines, more tubewells, checking dams to recharge the aquifer, more water tankers and a change in habits to conserve water are some of the concerns that need immediate attention, Mr Iqbal said.

“The amounts of water people waste is beyond imagination,” the official said.

The committee agreed with MCI’s suggestion to charge citizens for more water consumption.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Senator Mohammad Ali Khan Saif suggested that MCI should be strengthened to ensure it is able to deliver.

The committee decided to call concerned ministries including the finance ministry and Capital Administration and Development Division to discuss problems faced by MCI and how best to resolve them.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2018