ISLAMABAD, June 12: Sewerage tax will be imposed for the first time in the jurisdiction of Islamabad by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) from the beginning of next fiscal year (July 1), a well placed source in CDA told Dawn.

Giving details about the rate of sewerage tax, the source said 40 per cent of water tax would be charged as sewerage tax. “A person paying Rs100 in water tax monthly, would pay additional Rs40 in sewerage tax”.

“The main reason for imposing sewerage tax is to meet the cost of setting up of forth phase of the existing sewage treatment plant at sector I-9,” the source added.

The Rs1,222 million project has been approved by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and it will be funded by the French Government.

Out of the total amount, the French government would provide a loan of Rs913 million and the remaining Rs383 million would be met by the CDA.

It would also bear the operational and maintenance cost of the project. “Sewerage tax was being imposed to meet these expenses,” the source added.

The total production of sewage in Islamabad is stated to be about 23 million gallons per day (MGD), which after passing through Islamabad and thickly populated areas of Rawalpindi falls into Soan River.

This sewage is one of the major source of environmental pollution in the twin cities as well as the Soan River, whose water in downstream is used by the people for drinking.

If the fourth phase of the existing sewage treatment plant is completed, some 20 MGD sewage will become usable for irrigation and industrial purposes.

Sewerage tax was being imposed for the first time in the capital but it was already being charged in many other cities such as Karachi, Lahore, etc.

Meanwhile, the people of Islamabad expressed dissatisfaction over the sewerage system and said there was no justification for the CDA to levy this tax.