HARIPUR, June 29: The slow pace of work and change of government has put the fate of Rs225 million proposed Combined Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in the balance, exposing the eco-system of the area to further degradation at the hands of industrialists of the Hattar Industrial Estate (HIE), sources told Dawn here on Sunday.

Since the Hattar-based industrial units were predominantly export-oriented ones, the non-compliance of national and international legislation regarding environmental requirements, it might expose the country to threat of non-tariff barriers under the WTO regime internationally.

As the environmental protection in Pakistan is based on National Conservation Strategy (NCS) that requires conservation of natural resources, sustainable development and improved efficiency in the use and management of resources, it accords priority to mitigation of pollution load generated by the industries and focuses on establishment of waste minimisation techniques.

Established in the year 1984 at an area 1,063 acres, the Hattar Industrial Estate houses 350 plus industries out of which 149 were operational while rest were either under-completion or closed. About 25,000 workers are engaged with different job descriptions in the area. The major industrial units at the HIE are steel, pharmaceuticals, paper, marble, beverages and food industries.

The major sources of water pollution at the HIE -- according to a recent report of chemical analysis of the HIE-based factories of Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Peshawar -- were vegetable oil and Ghee factories, paper and board mills, chemical and textile units while steel mills, chipboard, cement and chemicals like sulphuric acid were found by the EPA as air pollution sources.

Owing to the threats posed by Hattar-based industries to the eco system particularly health of residents of surrounding areas, the federal environment ministry, on the directives of the than Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, had conducted a detailed survey of the industrial units and affected areas, and prepared PC-1of the proposed CETP project in the phase-4 of the HIE.