Health hazards: Effluents treatment plants in Kasur in bad shape

Authorities say tanners not contributing to keep treatment plants operational.

LAHORE:

Three plants that were set up in Kasur to treat effluents discharged by tanneries are either functioning at less their design capacity or lying closed for over two years due to lack of maintenance and trained staff.

“Residents of Kasur face the threat of waterborne diseases and environmental hazards due to the closure or malfunctioning of Tanneries Wastewater Treatment (TWT), Coram Extract Unit (CEU) and Fat Extraction Plant (FEP),” an official from the Environment Protection Department said.



“The district government is responsible for operating the plants since the DCO is managing director of the project,” the official told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He said the DCO was paid Rs23,000 a month to ensure that the plants were operated properly.

The Kasur Development Authority that oversees the Kasur Pollution Control Project is tasked with constructing, operating and maintaining tannery waste treatment facilities. The authority is also tasked with recovering contributions from tanneries for meeting the maintenance costs of the plants, and recruiting staff for the Kasur Tannery Waste Management Agency (KTWMA).

The plants were set up at a cost of Rs497.24 million in June 2002. The cost was shared by the provincial government, the Export Promotion Bureau, the Tanneries’ Association and the United Nations Development Programme.

The operation and maintenance cost of the plants was shared by the government, the district government and tanners for five years until June, 2007.

The project was then handed over to the KTWMA under the supervision of a managing director (the DCO). It was decided that the agency would operate the plants using funds collected from tanners.

In July 2012, the Environment Protection Department received complaints that the plants were not functioning properly and that effluents from tanneries were creating health problems.

An inquiry committee later reported that tanneries were discharging waste water into Pandoki Drain, the official said.

“The committee said the KTWMA had failed to collect fees from 250 tanneries to operate the plants; the outstanding amount had gone up to Rs20 million until June, 2014.”

He said the agency had also failed to frame bylaws to hire trained manpower for operating the plants.

Mushtaq Ahmed, a tannery manager, said it seemed the authorities were not interested in operating the plants. He said the TWT was operating partially and the FEP and CEU were closed.

Kasur DCO Adnan Asrshad Aulakh said the plants lacked capacity to treat waste discharged by tanneries. “We are working to improve their performance.”

He said the tanneries that had not deposited funds to operate the plants had been sent notices.

Environment Protection Department Secretary Iqbal Muhammad Chauhan said the district administration had been directed to remove all shortcomings, including shortage of staff, to operate all three plants properly.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2014.