ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the city managers to submit a report on the quality of water in Rawal Lake to determine whether it is fit for human consumption.
The court took suo moto action following media reports last month about deteriorating water quality in Rawal Lake.
A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed Capital Development Authority (CDA), Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Murree, Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) to submit comprehensive reports by August 23.
Rawal Lake is the main source of water for Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and due to unchecked human activities around the reservoir, its water had become highly contaminated, Chaudhry said As reports and water samples are produced before the court, they will be sent to standard laboratories for examination, he explained.
Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday expressed annoyance over Pak-EPA’s recent report and questioned why the agency was not keeping a check on 29 poultry farms that have been dumping garbage and other raw material into Rawal Lake for years. “This garbage severely polluted the water, making it injurious to health,” he said.
He also criticised TMA Murree for failing to control pollution at poultry farms located near and on the banks of Rawal Lake. The court was also dissatisfied with reports from Wasa laboratory located at Rawal Dam Filtration Plant and the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources.
However, Inspector Masood Amin, district officer (environment) Rawalpindi, told the court that he visited
Rawal Dam with a team to determine the quality of water before and after it is treated at the Rawal Lake Filtration Plant.
“The test of water conducted last month suggested that water treated at Rawal Lake Filtration Plant was fit for human consumption and drinking purposes,” Amin said.
Asif Shuja, Director General Pak-EPA, informed the court that his team visited Rawal Lake regularly and fined those who were polluting the environment. According to Misbah Sharif, CDA Legal Advisor, the authority is consulting with a firm to install more filtration plants for clean drinking water, she added.
Additional Advocate General Khadim Hussain Qaisar assured the court that the concerned quarters are preparing reports about pollution in Rawal Lake, which will be presented at the next hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 21st, 2010.
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