Judicial commission summons owners of factories in Port Qasim Authority

Chairperson admits factories were running without effluent treatment plants

HYDERABAD: The Supreme Court (SC)-mandated Judicial Commission on Water and Sanitation has summoned owners of industries operating in the three zones of the Port Qasim Authority (PQA), which have been releasing untreated effluent into the sea.

The commission's head, Justice (retd) Amir Hani Muslim, visited on Wednesday the PQA to take stock of the situation after receiving several complaints about pollution in the area.

PQA Chairperson Asad Rafi Chandna informed the commission that three industrial zones - North West, East and South West - operated in the jurisdiction of the authority. He complained that both the authority and Sindh Environmental Protection Agency had time and again issued notices to the industries to install in-house effluent treatment plants but to no avail.



"... most of the industries discharge liquid waste and effluent untreated directly into the sea," he said. Chandna specifically mentioned the names of Orient Textile, Denim Textile and Aga Steel, stating that the authority imposed fines on these industries for releasing effluent into the sea. However, he added that despite the penalty, the factories did not install in-house treatment plants.

He apprised the commission that one of the conditions for allotment of plots for industries was the installation of a pre-treatment plant. The PQA chairperson admitted that most of the industries had failed to fulfil their obligations and were, thereby, contributing to sea pollution.



The commission's head issued notice to all the industries listed as the environmental violators and ordered their owners to appear in person on June 20. The notices will be served to them through the district's SSP.