KARACHI, July 16: Sindh Environment Minister Sheikh Afzal has said that the government alone cannot control the growing menace of environmental pollution and urged all stakeholders to join hands to overcome this problem.

Speaking at the inauguration of an annex building and auditorium at the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) complex at Chamra Chowrangi in Korangi Industrial Area on Monday, he said that the industrialised and developed countries spent huge amounts of money to control pollution, however here the issue of environment was very low on list of priorities of both the government and the industries.

He said that the government took steps as it had to fulfil its international commitments and the industry, particularly those involved in the export business, had to follow environmental laws to satisfy their overseas customers.

He urged industrialists to follow the existing environmental laws as he did not want to use force and seal the polluting factories, which would create unemployment also.

He said that he had asked polluters to clean up their operations and follow environmental laws, and if they did not follow the rules, strict action had to be taken against them.

He said that unfortunately the public transport vehicles here were in such a bad shape that if they were in some other country, they would have been scrapped, however, they were still operating on roads and polluting the environment.

Similarly over 475 million gallons per day (MGD) of sewage was being generated in the city while the combined capacity of the city sewage treatment plants was around 151 MGDs.

He said that these plants were old and not running on full capacity and for that reason the bulk of untreated sewage was going to the sea, destroying the fragile marine ecosystem in the process.

Earlier, environment secretary Hussain Ali said that keeping in view a shortage of officials, the department was being expended and more officials were being inducted and more offices were established so that Sepa could reached all over the province to monitor industries.

He urged the officials to be punctual and follow discipline and do their work efficiently so that the environment could be protected.

Gulzar Feroz of the Pakistan Tanners’ Association said that a combined treatment plant being operated by tanners was working properly and treating all effluents being generated by the tanneries.

He urged the government to expedite the work on the proposed four combined treatment plants which were supposed to be set up in the city and said that the government had only allocated Rs100 million during the current year, which was nothing and would be consumed just in salaries of staff.

He also urged his industrialist colleagues to follow environmental laws, otherwise, they would suffer losses because most of the leather products were exported and overseas customers were very sensitive about implementation of environmental laws and environmental protection.

MPA Khalid Ahmed stressed the need for creating awareness of environmental protection, saying that with the inauguration of this auditorium it would be easier to hold programmes for increasing public awareness.

He suggested that educational institutions and NGOs should be allowed to hold awareness raising programmes in this auditorium.

He said that his party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, gave high importance to the environment and in this connection a chapter on the environment in the election manifesto of 2008 had been added which showed its commitment to the cause.

Ehteshamuddin of the Korangi industrialists association and Sepa director general Rafi-ud-din also spoke at the function that began over an-hour-and-half behind its schedule.

The ground-plus-two-storey building comprising an auditorium and many rooms with the covered area of 4,500 square feet on each floor (total 13,500 square feet) has been constructed at a cost of over Rs32 million in two years.