River pollution: Lahore High Court asks for detail of industries polluting the Ravi

Instructs EPD, WASA to submit revised lists.

LAHORE:

Finding differences in reports submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) by the Environment Protection Department and Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) about details of industries dumping pollutants in the River Ravi, the LHC green bench on Friday ordered them to submit revised lists that include all industries on the stretch.

Earlier, the additional secretary for environment submitted a list mentioning 283 factories while the WASA director’s report mentioned 520 factories. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah ordered that a revised and complete report be submitted by both departments and adjourned the hearing till June 1.

However, the counsel for neither Pakistan Environmental Law Association nor the Lahore Conservation Society appeared before the court on Thursday. The court was informed that they were out of town.

The petitioners had submitted that the River Ravi is the most polluted river in Pakistan and one of the most polluted rivers in the world. They had said that most of the waste disposal in the river occurs in the 84 kilometer stretch between the Ravi Syphon and the Balloki Headworks.

The petition said that it receives wastewater from pumping stations at Shadbagh, Shahdara, Main Outfall Road, Babu Sabu, Multan Road, Deg Nullah and Hadyara drain.

The petition cited a paper titled Water Quality Assessment of Effluent Receiving Streams in Pakistan (a case study published in Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology in 2011) that had considered various effluent sources which contributed to pollution in the Ravi over a period of three years, having chosen 14 sampling stations. It said according to an EPA study the total discharge of untreated wastewater from 14 disposal stations was 1,650 cusecs.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2012.