Abolishing district-level setup can lead to environmental disaster

LAHORE
The already rising pollution levels across the province can lead to an environmental disaster as the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) Punjab has proposed to abolish its district level setup, which is the very first check on polluters.
Abolishing district level setup of the department means giving a clean chit to the polluters and they can do whatever they want, said leading environmentalists who urged the government to immediately withdraw the proposed changes in the department.
It is pertinent to mention here that policymakers of the EPD did nothing except giving colorful presentations and policy papers to please politicians and ruling elite while on the ground people were compelled to drink contaminated water and inhale poisonous air, especially in urban localities.
Priority of the government towards the environment can be gauged from the fact that during the year 2015-16, the department has not introduced a single new scheme while the Punjab government had reduced the budgetary allocations for environment by 74 percent in comparison with the previous year.
Last year the government allocated Rs 190 million for environment but for the year 2015-16 the government only allocated Rs 50 million, which astonishingly didn’t include any new scheme. This year the government’s vision is promotion and attainment of sustainable development in the province through integration of environmental considerations while achieving the goals of economic growth and development.
It is pertinent to mention here that in 2008-09 the annual development budget for environmental protection was Rs 1 billion, in 2009-10 the development budget was cut down to Rs 500 million, in 2010-11 it was further reduced to Rs 335 million, in 2011-12 it was Rs 350 million and in 2012-13 it remained Rs 350 million. During the year 2013-14, the budgetary allocations for environment were further slashed to Rs 164 million while in 2014-15 it was revised a little and increased to Rs 190 million.
During the last several years Punjab government introduced different visions for improving environment, which included encouraging use of clean fuels, green public transport and treatment of industrial effluents, but ironically all these visions remained in the books and environmental issues seemed to be the last priority of the government in practical.
The practical efforts of the EPD can be gauged from the fact that majority of industrial units across the province are still throwing their toxic and untreated waste water into the ground as well as water channels like canals and rivers, ultimately affecting the overall environmental system of the nature. And there is no one to stop them.
Similarly, in urban areas smoke and noise emitting vehicles are thronging the roads while industrial units are continuously polluting the air. In urban areas, especially the provincial metropolis, the main cause of deterioration of air quality was presence of excessive Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) in the ambient air.
It is important to note that to tackle different environmental issues, the EPD established laboratories in eight different cities, but interestingly the performance of these laboratories except the one in Lahore was zero. Even the mobile units are out of order and standing at the EPD head office for the past three years.
Safe disposal of hospital waste and enforcement of Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 is also a very big issue, which needs to be dealt with serious efforts to save huge population from its very hazardous effects. Hospital waste includes both risk waste and non-risk waste.
Experts said there was an urgent need to raise awareness and educate general public and persons concerned on medical waste issues while proper waste management strategy was needed to ensure health and environmental safety.
EPD sources claimed that according to a recent study, average air pollution in big cities was about 4 times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) limits. They said the main causes are vehicular emissions, industrial emissions and dust fall. They said air pollution was causing respiratory diseases, eye irritation, reduced visibility, loss of vegetation, damage to material, heritage and monuments and effects on growth of plants.
About water pollution, department sources said water pollution was the contamination of water bodies like lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater. Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
They said main causes were disposal of untreated municipal liquid waste, leaking sewer lines and industrial waste water. They said water pollution was contaminating drinking water, polluting water bodies, sub-soil water, loss of aquatic life, crop damages, heavy metals in food chain and increased rate of water borne diseases.
Environmental experts said the treatment plants should be installed for municipal and industrial effluents before disposal to water bodies. They said adequate collection, recycling and disposal should be ensured while application of “Clean Technology” at the industrial units. They said segregation of sewage lines was a must to avoid mixing with drinking water supply while fitter plants should be installed for clean drinking water.
Director General EPA Dr Javed Iqbal while talking with The News said the proposal of abolishing district level setup was made, but this proposal had never been submitted to the government. He agreed that abolishing this setup could be a catastrophic move and the department would lose its representation in all the districts.