The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the administration of Pakistan’s Environment Protection Agency-EPA) failed to take permanent measures, including the construction of the main sewage trunk line and installment of treatment plants, in catchments of Rawal Lake to prevent it from contamination.
Authorities had now sped up work as the Supreme Court had asked them to submit their progress report regarding the Rawal Lake’s contamination case on Thursday.
Two years ago Supreme Court of Pakistan took a suo moto notice of contamination of Rawal Lake’s water and directed the CDA, EPA and ICT to take immediate measures to prevent sewage from entering Rawal Lake.
The CDA, along with EPA and ICT, planned to install treatment plants on three different locations in the catchments areas to treat the sewage water, contaminating the Rawal Lake. However, they had failed to produce any concrete action and all work done in this regard was still in not done.
Taking short-term measures, the authorities plugged illegal sewage connections in Bari Imam, Bani Gala and Noorpur Shahan, the catchments area of Rawal Lake to prevent inflow of polluted water into the Rawal Lake.
However, it was decided that for a permanent solution, a main sewage trunk line and three sewage treatment plants would be installed in the catchments of Rawal Lake.
An official in EPA, on the condition of anonymity, told Pakistan Today, “EPA had prepared PC-1 of sewage treatments plants for ICT and CDA, but they have not done anything to materialise it.”
He said although they had received a water quality report from WASA, which was quite satisfactory, but during a visit they found a few buffalo stables still existing in Golra.
On the other hand the CDA, after getting a notice from the apex court again, conducted a monitoring visit to the kachi abadis and blocked few more illegal sewerage connections.
During a hearing in 2010, the Supreme Court expressed surprise over the fact that the concerned authorities were spending millions on installation of s treatment plant to purify contaminated water instead of making arrangements to block the flow of sewage and effluents into the dam.
The SC has directed the cabinet division secretary to call a meeting of all the stakeholders and devise “effective measures” to ensure that “not a drop of filthy water” enters Rawal Dam. The onus was now on the cabinet division to take lead in putting an end to pollution in the lake.
All three agencies, now under the umbrella of a cabinet division were busy since last week to prepare their progress report to satisfy the apex court. When contacted, CDA Spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said that as it was a big project it would take time to materialise.
“We prepared PC-1 for the construction of a main sewage trunk line and submitted it to the planning commission but after a few reservations from their side, we were making some changes,” he claimed.
He said there were many hurdles in the construction of the main trunk line as Noor Pur Shahan and other kachi abadis in the catchments were not planned, therefore, we were facing problems in making a feasible action plan.
Rawal Lake was Rawalpindi’s main source of drinking water. Concerns over the flow of untreated sewage from housing colonies and effluents from poultry farms into the lake were first raised some two decades ago.
In 1995, a task force to control pollution in the dam was set up. Later, a Rawal Lake Catchments Management Committee was established to coordinate the workings of the various agencies involved, including the administration of the water bodies in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Murree, and the national and provincial environment protection agencies.
Despite several attempts, EPA Director General Asif Shujah, was not available for comments.
