HYDERABAD: Downstream population living in Tando Mohammad Khan and Sujawal districts would have to wait for a few years more to get clean drinking water from Kotri barrage’s non-perennial Old Phulelli/Pinyari canal — a freshwater body.

And till then, the canal would keep getting effluent of all sorts, thanks to delay in the execution of multibillion federal government-funded sewerage treatment plant, a scheme of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa). The scheme had been launched 15 years back, during General Pervez Musharraf’s rule, but could not be completed as yet.

This scheme, titled the Eastern Sewerage Treatment Plant (ESTP), is of paramount importance and was planned in 2006, when the city was headed by then district nazim Kanwar Naveed.

However, it has so far met the same fate which others schemes do. For all practical purposes, it has remained abandoned.

The Pinyari canal is freshwater source for Sujawal – a tail-end district which faces never-ending sea intrusion that devours farmland — and part of Tando Mohammad Khan district after the canal emanates from left side of Kotri Barrage.

People of two districts wait for clean drinking water for 17 years

The ESTP, approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec), was aimed at resolving the issue of clean drinking water to the area’s population. An amount of Rs660.802m was spent out of the total cost of Rs915.30m. Initially, it was to be executed on 50-50 basis by the federal and Sindh governments. Sub-sequently, federal government undertook to bear the entire cost after sharing Rs254.498m (out of Rs660.802m). Over the years, according to a Wasa official, the cost was revised to Rs2,804.873m. “I fear it will be around Rs3,500m now due to currency’s depreciation,” said a Wasa official.

Since federal government’s rele-ases remained suspended, the work on the plant stopped.

Pinyari canal gets wastewater and industrial and domestic effluents, from a considerably large part of Hyderabad city, released into it through a disposal facility namely Darya Khan (village) pumping station.

It was learnt through government sources that scheme was still ‘alive’ on paper but funds were not being released by federal government.

The Wasa official, however, said the scheme would have to be revised by Central Development Working Party (CDWP), a federal government forum that evaluates schemes.

“Once the cost is revised and funds are released in one-go, only then it could be executed; otherwise piecemeal releases will keep escalating cost and scheme will be going nowhere. Seventeen years have already passed since its launch,” he remarked.

Environmental laws disallow effluent releases

Wasa plans to build 22.5 million gallons per day (MGD) capacity treatment plant under it for incremental design discharge. If scheme was executed, then only treated waste cleared of sludge would be disposed of into the canal while sludge could be provided to farmers who could use it as fertiliser.

Environmental laws disallow release of wastewater or effluent into freshwater bodies like lakes and canals but this practice is continuing across Sindh. At Old Phulelli canal, the situation worsens when it gets lower freshwater flows from Kotri barrage during water shortage.

But quantum of unabated wastewater disposal into the canal remained huge, threatening lives of human, cattle and livestock population downstream and even within Hyderabad. Kotri barrage bears the brunt of most water shortages when there are inadequate flows in the Indus river system. The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) fears a massive water shortage during upcoming Kharif that has started on April 1.

Revision being sought

Sindh government sources said that it had sought Rs150m for the ESTP from federal government which were not released in 2022-23 period. This federal-funded scheme was part of Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and was earlier set for a revision at Rs2,804.873m as per its revised cost in PC-I. Its modified/revised PC-I, worked out at Rs3,507.421m, was submitted in compliance with the decisions of pre-provincial development working party which cleared its revised cost of Rs3,507.421m to be submitted to federal government for approval by Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

The provincial government through Wasa now plans to complete it by June 2025 depending on funds availability/releases.

Planning Commission approached

Sindh governments’ Planning and Development Board (P&DB), meanwhile, is said to have approached Planning Commission in February to seek extension in the implementation period of this scheme on the grounds that funds were not being released and implementation period expired. It wants the Planning Commission, headed by Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, to get the scheme revised/approved from CDWP so that planned period may be extended. The P&DB believes delay in the approval of scheme was creating issues but even revision of these schemes would face degradation of the work already done. It would ultimately lead to cost escalation in future.

Separate drainage scheme

Sindh irrigation department had designed another scheme to address perennial problem of contamination of Old Phulelli canal. The department conceived it to divert saline water to Karo Ghungro outfall drain. The drain had a capacity of 1,800 cusecs but with the inclusion of Hyderabad’s domestic waste and stormwater drain — titled as ‘Darya Khan drain‘ — its capacity has increased to 2,200 cusecs. The scheme was originally designed to cost Rs2bn but now the cost would stand at Rs3bn.

Kotri barrage chief engineer Haji Khan Jamali said the drain would run parallel to Pinyari/old Phulelli canal between it and the Hyderabad-Tando Mohammad Khan road. The drain would carry discharges from parts of Badin, Sujawal and Tando Mohammad Khan districts and eventually fall into Sir Creek, one of the several creeks in Indus delta.

“This scheme was not designed originally for carrying Hyderabad’s wastewater that is regularly disposed of into the Old Phulelli canal in contravention of environmental laws but this component has been added to it to fix the issue once and for all [in addition to presently incomplete Wasa’s treatment plant project]”, said CE. He added that the drain was to carry discharge from Karo Ghungro main drain (RD-2 to RD-201) and Karo Ghungro branch drain (RD-0 to RD-125) besides two smaller old and new Deewan drains.

An almost 90mile long drain would stop near a village in Zealpak area outside municipal limits of Hyderabad city. Sindh local government would have to build a piece of drain from Darya Khan point to Zealpak area to divert wastewater while bypassing Old Phulelli canal in order to save human, cattle and livestock population.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2023