Capital Development Authority (CDA) has failed to initiate the instalment of treatment plants in the Rawal Lake catchment areas to control water contamination. Usmania and Company was hired for the project, but not given permission to start work though more than a year has passed since the submission of the project’s feasibility report and design.
Last year the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo motu notice of water contamination in the Rawal Lake and directed the CDA, Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to take immediate measures to stop sewage discharge into the Rawal Lake. Following the notice, the CDA planned to install treatment plants in the catchment areas to treat the sewage water contaminating the Rawal Lake, but lack of ownership has stalled the project.
Usmania and Company’s head of the project, Ahtisham, told Pakistan Today, “We did not get any approval on the pre-feasibility report. We have also submitted the feasibility and design report, but the CDA has yet to approve the project.” He said the company could start working on the project if they got the approval of CDA, but the authority was paying no attention to the issue. Talking about the feasibility report, he said, “We have identified areas in which four treatment plants in upper catchments area of Rawal Lake will be installed.”
An EPA official, requesting not to be named, told Pakistan Today there was no coordination among the relevant departments of CDA, ICT and EPA. The EPA was not aware of the reasons behind CDA’s delaying the project as the latter had not invited EPA to a meeting regarding the issue, he said. EPA had made an inspection visit to the area and was disappointed by the efforts made by CDA to stop the lake’s contamination.
When Pakistan Today contacted CDA, no one was available to comment. CDA Director Environment Sajjad Ali Shah advised this scribe to contact CDA Director General Design Saeed Ullah Bangash who referred the matter to planning committee member Tahir Shamshad.
ICT Assistant Commissioner Nauman Yousaf said, “I do not know about the delay in the approval of the feasibility report as we are working on a different component of this project. I am also not aware whether CDA has included Bara Kahu (catchments area of Rawal Lake) in their feasibility report or not.” He said ICT was dealing with the residential sewage treatment in the catchments area for which they had identified Madina Town and Bhara Kahu for construction of the sewage pits.
An environmental expert said heavy rains and water flow had lowered pollution levels in catchment streams, but without rains and lesser water flow the pollution level would increase.
He said CDA had taken temporary steps like the construction of separate tanks to stop the flow of contaminated water into the lake and had asked the inhabitants of the area to construct separate in-house tanks. Due to the lack of interest of the departments concerned, people started throwing solid waste into those tanks.
It is important to mention here that the waste and sewage of the villages of Bara Kahu, Malpur, Bani Gala and Noorpur Shahan situated close to the Rawal Lake is adversely affecting the quality of water in the Rawal Lake. This includes dumping of untreated sewerage and solid waste in water channels by 170 poultry farms in the catchment area.
Authorities say soakage pits are a temporary solution and treatment plants need to be installed to control water pollution.
