A delegation of environmental activists belonging to civil society organisations, including Alternative Law Collectives, The Knowledge Forum and Visionary Forum, called on the Director General of Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) Mr. Naeem Ahmed Mughal, at his office in Karachi on June 17, 2022.
Mr. Mughal underlined the need to have zero discharge/pollution from the industries, as the local industries in the province are misusing the permissible limits of environmental quality standards. He pointed out that in the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), 1997 there is no clause for zero emission.
He emphasised the need for amendments to the environmental laws. After the 18th Amendment, all the provinces have made their own Environmental Protection Acts, but mostly the federal law has been adopted. “In Sindh, we review each clause of the law and make changes accordingly,” he said, adding that the SEQS needed to be reviewed frequently and amended.
In Karachi, most of the industries are discharging their effluent into the drainage system without proper treatment, which is posing a threat to the environment and marine life. The entire coast of Karachi is polluted, he remarked.
Many big industries like textile and leather have their own effluent treatment plants, but those plants are non-functional most of the time. Whenever some foreign buyers or government officials visit, those industries start their effluent treatment plants, but they prefer to keep those plants shut to save their energy costs.
According to him, combined treatment plants should be outsourced to a third party because it is difficult for the government inspectors to inspect each factory.
