Ravi River Commission: Make the interim report public, says LHC

Report suggests measures to control the discharge of polluted water and waste.

LAHORE:

A Green Bench of the Lahore High Court on Friday directed the Ravi River Commission (RCC) to make public an interim report, prepared by its sub-committee, suggesting measures to control the discharge of polluted water and other waste.

The interim report suggested that as a pilot project a bioremediation plant, based on the concept of constructed wetlands, be established on land of about 50 acres, in Babu Sabu.

The plant which can treat 10 cusecs of waste water, suggested the committee, could be used as a pilot study. Further decisions may be made based on how well the plant fares.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, head of the Green Bench, directed the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to make public the report and invite comments of the public on it.

The Ravi River Commission said in the report that the project will establish the suitability of this type of waste treatment in Lahore.

It also said that the project would serve as an exercise between stakeholders to strengthen coordination among them.

The commission also considered the waste treatment project proposed by WASA at Mehmood Booti and established another committee to review the WASA project proposal and design and to make its recommendations.



The RRC also agreed that there was a need to determine the pollution caused by various industries that had been identified by the Environment Protection Agency as discharging heavy metals.

The Green Bench of Lahore High Court had formed a commission on the request of several petitioners. They had submitted that the Ravi was the most polluted river in Pakistan.

They said the river received wastewater from Shadbagh, Shahdara, Main Outfall Road, Babu Sabu (Gulshan-i-Ravi), Multan Road, Deg Nullah and Hadiara Drain pumping stations. They contended that dumping of pollutants in the river affected water and food quality and hence human health.

The Green Bench was then adjourned till the first week of January, 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2012.