The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed the provincial environmental secretary, Defense Housing Authority, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and other respondent authorities to submit reports showing efforts they have made to control marine pollution.
The court also summoned the details about city’s storm water drains from the authorities.
A three-member bench comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Sarmad Jalal Usmani and Maqbool Baqar was hearing a number of human rights applications seeking court directives for the authorities concerned to control rising marine pollution and disposal of untreated sewerage and industrial waste into the sea.
The applicants had submitted that marine pollution in the coastal areas had increased at an alarming level due to dumping of untreated, toxic industrial waste and pesticides into the sea.
They pleaded the court to issue directives for the concerned authorities to take measures to control disposal of the toxic and hazardous waste produced by the industrial units into the sea.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the judges expressed extreme displeasure over the authorities for slow progress in installing sewerage water treatment plant. KWSB’s Managing Director Hashim Raza Zaidi informed the court that as yet no treatment plant was functioning to treat sewerage water. He said the steps were being taken to control the marine pollution. The counsel of Board of Revenue told the judges that it had provided 300-acre land for installing sewerage treatment plant.
While adjourning till June 11, the bench directed the respondent authorities to submit their respective reports by the next hearing.