Judicial body seeks five-year record of Sindh’s RO plants

Special Initiatives Department officials fail to provide satisfactory replies to queries

The judicial commission investigating non-provision of potable water, sanitation and healthy environment to Sindh has demanded records spanning the past five years of reverse-osmosis plants in the province.

Special Initiatives Department (SID) Secretary Ejaz Ahmed Khan informed the judicial body on Monday that they had installed only small RO plants and that the bigger ones were set up by the energy department.

He admitted that there was no laboratory to check the quality of water at any of the RO plants. Responding to a query, he was unable to assure the commission of any sort of inspection to ascertain the quality of water.

He was also unsure if the amount being paid to Pak Oasis was ever audited, and sought time to compile the record of all the relevant details, including a copy of the agreement between the SID and the private company and the names of the project directors.

SID Project Director Nafees Ahmed Sheikh told the commission that 500 RO plants were installed in the first phase, during which Rs10,800 were paid for maintenance of every plant.

He added that 1,400 RO plants were installed in the second and third phases, for which Rs26,000 and Rs31,000 were being paid respectively to a private firm for maintenance of every plant.

He said the field officers of his department prepared a report on each RO plant, on the basis of which the charges were being paid to the company. He, however, could not produce any such report and sought time to do the same.

The judicial commission headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro directed the director general (audit) to submit a five-year report in respect of funds released for installation, operation and maintenance of the RO plants operating in different districts of the province.

Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Secretary Tameezuddin Khero told the judicial body that the filter plant in Umerkot was not functional due to lack of proper wire for the relevant transformer by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco).

The Hesco superintendent assured the commission that proper electric wire with the requisite gauge would be provided for making the filter plant operational.

He also gave the assurance that all the power connections would be activated on the applications submitted by the PHED for the schemes of water supply and sanitation, against which demand notices had been deposited. The judicial commission also directed the federal law officer to submit a report on disposal of hospital waste by the health facilities set up under the federal government.