Sepa told to curb untreated effluents, vehicular and industrial emissions

The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has failed to control air and water pollution by stopping the release of untreated industrial effluents into the sea, and curbing vehicular and industrial emissions, the caretaker chief minister said on Wednesday.

“These are the basic functions of Sepa which it has to perform efficiently and effectively for the protection, conservation, rehabilitation and improvement of the environment,” Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar said in a meeting with Sepa officials that he presided over at the agency’s office in Korangi.

The meeting was told Sepa’s functions include the prevention and control of pollution, and the promotion of sustainable development through the enforcement of the environmental laws.

Baqar said Sepa has been working since 1989, and has failed to persuade or force industrial units to set up waste treatment plants. “They’re releasing untreated effluents into the sea and even in the River Indus at Kotri, and causing water pollution.”

The meeting was told that monitoring industrial effluents; vehicular, noise and industrial emissions; ambient air quality and drinking water quality; and waste-hazardous and non-hazardous management are Sepa’s operational areas. Baqar said Sepa would have to act effectively in the larger public interest.

Quoting the Sindh Environmental Protection Act, 2014, he said: “No person shall discharge or emit or allow the discharge or emission of any effluent, waste, pollutant, noise or any other matter that may cause or be likely to cause pollution or adverse environmental effects.”

As a matter of fact, he added, this law is being brazenly violated. Sepa Director General Naeem Mughal responded by saying that such cases have been sent to the tribunal and are being followed up accordingly.

Mughal also told the meeting that a complaint redressal mechanism is working at Sepa. He said they receive complaints from various forums, for which district incharge officials are designated for swift response, adding that a complaint cell has been established for quick response under his supervision.

Baqar directed him to improve Sepa’s performance and contribute to the improvement of the environment in the province, particularly in Karachi, by overcoming air and water pollution.

The meeting was also attended by interim tourism and environment minister Arshad Wali Mohammad, Environment Secretary Agha Wasif, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board Managing Director Imtiaz Shah and others.