National Assembly's Standing Committee on Cabinet on Friday expressed fears that residents of Rawalpindi are exposed to the perils of water borne diseases as the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has not only failed to install sewerage treatment plants on the tributaries, the main supply sources to the Rawal Lake, but has also failed to remove encroachments in its adjacent areas.
Additional Secretary Cabinet Division Shahid Ullah Baig admitted that CDA failed to bring the level of pollution down in the surrounding areas of Rawal Lake as they are still in the planning stage to reduce the chances of the mixing of sewerage in drinking water.
Reviewing CDA's performance under the supervision of the Cabinet Division, members of the committee reached a conclusion that CDA has not taken even a signal step during the last six months to bring the contamination level down as per the directives of the committee. This carelessness on the part of the Cabinet forced the committee to extend implementation for another two months.
It was also revealed that the Cabinet failed to control the ever increasing encroachments and housing schemes near the Rawal Lake. "The permission of Bunni Gala Housing Scheme at the bank of Rawal Lake had an adverse impact on the environment and it increased water pollution", he said. This was challenging for the CDA to stop the discharge of wastes direct in Rawal Lake. "Result of a survey shows that only 40 percent household of Bunni Gala had taken appropriate steps, while the rest of the sewage is being dumped in the lake," said Muzar Hussain, an employee of the CDA.
Replying to a question raised by a member, the additional secretary said the CDA had been creating awareness regarding littering. However, the lawmaker Shireen Arshad Khan was not satisfied on the reply and alleged that in the surrounding area of the lake, the CDA's awareness campaigns were ineffective. "No fruitful results were yielded as the sewerage water is constantly mixing with the drinking water, which is drained by the housing societies near the Rawal Lake", she said.
Baig however tried to address the concerns of the members of the standing committee. He said the CDA hired the services of three firms to install the sewerage treatment plants in the Bari Imam Shrine and the Diplomatic Enclave. "Even in this case, a minimum one and a half year is required when these treatment plants start functioning", he said.
Everyday sewerage is being dumped in the Korang River and its tributaries, which are the major sources of water for the Rawal Lake. Similarly, the two tributaries originating from Shahdara Valley and Noorpur Valley bring waste into the lake.
Baig also said that by following an example of the Punjab government, the federal government should also make it compulsory for the new housing societies to construct their own sewerage plants before applying for NOC from the CDA. Earlier, CDA's representative Muzar Hussain gave a presentation to the members of the committee. The presentation was a review of the efforts of TMA, WARSA and the CDA in controlling the pollution and water contamination future strategy. Dewan Ashiq Hussain Bokhari chaired the meeting.