Lives at risk from inaction over Manchar Lake contamination: SC

Karachi
The Supreme Court voiced its concern at government inaction over Manchar Lake contamination, and directed the federal finance secretary and the water and power secretary on Tuesday to submit a report explaining what steps were being taken for the installation of a treatment plant at the lake.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali issued the directive while hearing a suo moto case with regard to the contamination of water in the lake.
It also took notice of the failure of the two secretaries to appear despite its orders.
At the previous hearing, the apex court had directed the secretaries and other officials to explain the non-availability of funds reserved by the federal government for an effluent treatment plant, saying that despite the lapse of two years the project was still in its initial stages.
It was informed by the deputy attorney general that the finance secretary was out of the country and the water and power secretary was in Islamabad to attend a high-level meeting.
The court observed that the contamination of the lake water affected a large population as well as marine and wildlife, but the government was doing nothing to save precious lives and environment.
The court observed that the largest lake of Asia had been destroyed and polluted and cases would be registered against the water and power secretary and other officials if any person died after consuming contaminated water of the lake.
The court inquired the federal law officer as to why funds were not being released by the federal government for the effluent treatment plant.
The planning and development secretary submitted that there was a dispute between the Sindh and Balochistan governments over the right bank outfall drain, which also caused a delay in the project.
The joint secretary finance informed the court that the treatment plant project could not be completed due to lack of funds and soon funds would be released. He said the project would be completed within two years and it would clean 20 million gallons of water on a daily basis.
The court took exception to the bureaucratic hurdles between the government departments, observing that these departments may take years in resolving their issues but the contamination in Manchar Lake must be stopped.
It said it had to interfere in the matters when the authorities failed to perform their duties.
The court observed that the federal government did not take the required steps for stopping the contamination in the lake and no treatment plant project had been completed yet due to lack of provision of funds by the federal government.