LAHORE, Oct 20: Deputy Speaker Shaukat Husain Mazari on Thursday snubbed Punjab Environment Minister Makhdoom Ashfaq when the latter could not satisfy the house about the performance of his department during the question hour.

“This is no answer and your department can be chargesheeted (for this). Direct your department (officials) to submit correct replies,” said Mr Mazari, showing his disapproval of the answers being given by the minister in response to queries by various members.

Apparently ill-prepared for the session, the minister was either giving incomplete answers or had nothing to explain the questions posed by various opposition MPAs.

The chair, however, withdrew its ruling before the house was adjourned for Friday morning, saying he took the step after both the minister as well as the environment secretary tendered their written apology.

Replying to a written question about the problems being caused by untreated water discharged by industrial units in Faisalabad district, Mr Ashfaq said a combined effluent treatment plant was being commissioned in Faisalabad, Lahore, Sialkot and Kasur for those small units which could not install their own.

He did not have any answer when PPP’s Rana Aftab asked if the plant would be enough for 140 units in one of Faisalabad’s industrial clusters.

Responding to a supplementary query by PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah, he also could not say when the plant would be installed. Rather his reply confirmed that nothing had been done on ground so far.

The minister could not reply when Rana Sana sought estimated cost of the plant and its break-down, plus the share of the provincial as well as the district government in its financing.

At one point Makhdoom Ashfaq said he could just pray (for improvement in the environment condition). The chair interrupted by suggesting him that he should offer some treatment, besides prayers.

Answering a written question by MMA’s Syed Ehsanullah Waqas about how many silencers of auto-rickshaws had been changed by June 2004, the department just replied that a campaign with the cooperation of district governments had been run for the purpose.

The minister added that manufacturing of two-stroke rickshaws had been banned while a Rs1 billion fund created to subsidize introduction of four-stroke vehicles. The old rickshaws, he said, would be eliminated from five big cities of the province by Jan 1, 2008.

When the mover complained that the minister was not giving the number of the changed silencers, the deputy speaker commented that he must rather appreciate that the government was changing rickshaws instead of just silencers.

The minister again, instead of giving the number, said actually banning the rickshaws would create joblessness. Moreover, he said in case of ban the mover himself would be standing with the protesting rickshaw drivers.

Replying to the written question of MMA’s Arshad Baggu about the steps taken to prevent contamination of the Ravi’s water, Mr Ashfaq told the house that Wasa’s Lahore offices had been issued direction for installing six treatment plants on a priority basis. One of these would be commissioned at Babu Sabu at a cost of Rs4 billion.

As the total project required Rs14 billion, he said, the government did not have that much amount due to which the project was lying unexecuted.