ISLAMABAD, April 2: The Sindh government has decided to initiate a programme to improve the quality of industrial wastewater by implementing a Master Plan in all industrial estates in Karachi.

Official sources told this correspondent that the Sindh government had submitted a revised 'Improvement of Karachi Industrial Waste Water Quality' project for approval to the Planning Commission.

Initially, Rs72 million would be spent on the proposed project for which the federal government would later make available substantial funding to complete the project by February 2006. The Japanese government is also expected to extend sizable funds for the project.

An extensive study would be carried out on the present quality of wastewater for industrial sites located along the Lyari and Malir river channels.

The Sindh government maintained that the area's ecological conditions, influenced by the deteriorated wastewater quality, is no longer healthy because of extensive water pollution and other sewage-related issues. And to cope with it, the present and future projected problems needed to be analysed from technical, institution and financial points of view. Also, an integrated approach to the planning of environmental management needed to be adopted.

Nowadays, there are many factories that have unsatisfactory conditions with the criteria of water quality standard.

Hence, the extract of the priority factories are required to install the necessary facilities for improvement of wastewater treatment. All the industries shall meet the regulations of the wastewater quality.

The existing conditions of industrial water resources and quality shall be taken into consideration for the planning of the improvement of the wastewater treatment. Further, recycled water use is beneficial for improvement of wastewater treatment, therefore, it is necessary to undertake a study on this subject.

The Sindh government argues that the population of the Karachi metropolitan area rose to about 10.1 million in year 2000 because of migration from different parts of the country. Increase in population and expansion of urban area degraded industrial wastewater quality in the area.

Toxic industrial pollutants had been detected in the groundwater at many industrial sites. In the Korangi industrial area alone, there are 192 leather and allied industries that have caused severe pollution of coastal areas, worsening the living environment not only in the area but also the surrounding areas.