By Ali Raza
LAHORE: DIFFERENT types of pollution remained on the rise during year 2010 because of no practical and effective effort on part of the Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) to bring down surging levels of water and air pollution across the province.
Policymakers of the EPD did nothing except giving colourful presentations and policy papers to please politicians and ruling elite while on the ground people were compelled to drink contaminated water and inhale poisonous air especially in urban localities.
In the budget 2010-11, the Punjab government introduced a new vision of encouraging use of clean fuels, green public transport and treatment of industrial effluents but ironically these visionary words remained in the budget books.
Environmental issues seemed to be the last priority of the government as during the year 2010, Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif failed to ensure installation of any of the four approved waste water treatment plants for Faisalabad, Multan, Sundar Industrial Estate and Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate.
It is pertinent to mention here that majority of the industrial units across the province throw their toxic and untreated waste water into the ground as well as water channels like canals and rivers ultimately affecting the overall environmental system of the nature.
In urban areas, the department also failed in running any continuous and effective campaigns against smoke and noise emitting vehicles as well as the industrial units. It is also pertinent to mention here that in urban localities, the department also failed in taking any step to move industrial clusters from residential areas.
In urban areas especially the provincial metropolis, the main cause of deterioration of air quality during 2010 was presence of excessive Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) in the ambient air. The major sources of the SPM are vehicles, industry, burning of solid waste, brick kilns and natural dust. The origin of the SPM may be a natural phenomenon such as unpaved roads and places uncovered by green grass or trees. The average SPM concentration in Lahore exceeded many folds from the international standards (120 ug/m3).
Free movement of vehicles using crude diesel oil, motorcycles and two stroke rickshaws were also the main causes of air and noise pollution in urban areas including the provincial metropolis. It is worth mentioning here that despite clear directions of the Lahore High Court, the City District Government Lahore, Punjab Transport Department and EPD had failed to enforce ban on two stroke rickshaws in the City.
Another reason, which increased release of toxic gases from vehicles was overloading, faulty fuel injection nozzles and weak engines but none of the departments concerned including EPD took this seriously and failed to take any concrete action against this violation.
During the 2010, most of the tubewells pumped out hazardous and polluted water and a study of EPD about Lahore in 2010 showed that over 90 per cent of the tubewells of Wasa were supplying contaminated water to the citizens.
It is important to note that to tackle different environmental issues, the EPD established laboratories in eight different cities but interestingly the performance of these laboratories except the one in Lahore was nothing. For example EPD’s laboratory in Murree was established in a two room house but most of the time one of these remained occupied by EPD officials who came to Murree alone or with their families to enjoy weather during the year.
The EPD officials including its Director General Dr Shagufta Shahjehan also avoided giving research reports, analyses and laboratory findings especially pertaining to ground water contamination to media because of the fear of the provincial government.
Other main environmental issues, which got less attention in 2010 and needs immediate and permanent solutions in 2011 included safe disposal of hospital waste and enforcement of Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005, regular and open monitoring of ground water, immediate construction of four approved waste water treatment plants for industrial zones, enforcement of rules regarding installation of water treatment plants by industrial sector, shifting of industrial clusters from outside residential localities and etc.
The EPD officials said the main hindrance being faced by them was absence of legal powers to check the polluters. They said the government should make rules pertaining to administrative penalty powers given to EPD officials under PEPA Act 1997, so that officials could use these powers against the polluters.
On the other side, EPD officials said they ran various successful campaigns against pollution besides issuing more than 1,500 Environmental Protection Orders (EPOs), which is a record. They added that special campaigns included action against stone crushers in Taxila and Sargodha, action against rice mills, action against illegal construction near Kalar Kahar Lake and Tharabi Dam in Chakwal District, land acquisition for over 300 tanneries of Sialkot and action against polluters dumping untreated waste water in Rawal Lake.
LAHORE: DIFFERENT types of pollution remained on the rise during year 2010 because of no practical and effective effort on part of the Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) to bring down surging levels of water and air pollution across the province.
Policymakers of the EPD did nothing except giving colourful presentations and policy papers to please politicians and ruling elite while on the ground people were compelled to drink contaminated water and inhale poisonous air especially in urban localities.
In the budget 2010-11, the Punjab government introduced a new vision of encouraging use of clean fuels, green public transport and treatment of industrial effluents but ironically these visionary words remained in the budget books.
Environmental issues seemed to be the last priority of the government as during the year 2010, Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif failed to ensure installation of any of the four approved waste water treatment plants for Faisalabad, Multan, Sundar Industrial Estate and Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate.
It is pertinent to mention here that majority of the industrial units across the province throw their toxic and untreated waste water into the ground as well as water channels like canals and rivers ultimately affecting the overall environmental system of the nature.
In urban areas, the department also failed in running any continuous and effective campaigns against smoke and noise emitting vehicles as well as the industrial units. It is also pertinent to mention here that in urban localities, the department also failed in taking any step to move industrial clusters from residential areas.
In urban areas especially the provincial metropolis, the main cause of deterioration of air quality during 2010 was presence of excessive Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) in the ambient air. The major sources of the SPM are vehicles, industry, burning of solid waste, brick kilns and natural dust. The origin of the SPM may be a natural phenomenon such as unpaved roads and places uncovered by green grass or trees. The average SPM concentration in Lahore exceeded many folds from the international standards (120 ug/m3).
Free movement of vehicles using crude diesel oil, motorcycles and two stroke rickshaws were also the main causes of air and noise pollution in urban areas including the provincial metropolis. It is worth mentioning here that despite clear directions of the Lahore High Court, the City District Government Lahore, Punjab Transport Department and EPD had failed to enforce ban on two stroke rickshaws in the City.
Another reason, which increased release of toxic gases from vehicles was overloading, faulty fuel injection nozzles and weak engines but none of the departments concerned including EPD took this seriously and failed to take any concrete action against this violation.
During the 2010, most of the tubewells pumped out hazardous and polluted water and a study of EPD about Lahore in 2010 showed that over 90 per cent of the tubewells of Wasa were supplying contaminated water to the citizens.
It is important to note that to tackle different environmental issues, the EPD established laboratories in eight different cities but interestingly the performance of these laboratories except the one in Lahore was nothing. For example EPD’s laboratory in Murree was established in a two room house but most of the time one of these remained occupied by EPD officials who came to Murree alone or with their families to enjoy weather during the year.
The EPD officials including its Director General Dr Shagufta Shahjehan also avoided giving research reports, analyses and laboratory findings especially pertaining to ground water contamination to media because of the fear of the provincial government.
Other main environmental issues, which got less attention in 2010 and needs immediate and permanent solutions in 2011 included safe disposal of hospital waste and enforcement of Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005, regular and open monitoring of ground water, immediate construction of four approved waste water treatment plants for industrial zones, enforcement of rules regarding installation of water treatment plants by industrial sector, shifting of industrial clusters from outside residential localities and etc.
The EPD officials said the main hindrance being faced by them was absence of legal powers to check the polluters. They said the government should make rules pertaining to administrative penalty powers given to EPD officials under PEPA Act 1997, so that officials could use these powers against the polluters.
On the other side, EPD officials said they ran various successful campaigns against pollution besides issuing more than 1,500 Environmental Protection Orders (EPOs), which is a record. They added that special campaigns included action against stone crushers in Taxila and Sargodha, action against rice mills, action against illegal construction near Kalar Kahar Lake and Tharabi Dam in Chakwal District, land acquisition for over 300 tanneries of Sialkot and action against polluters dumping untreated waste water in Rawal Lake.
Published in Daily The News on Saturday, January 08, 2011.
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