CM directs to devise master-plan for water supply, sewerage, treatment plants

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the local government and other departments concerned to prepare a master-plan for water supply and sewerage system along with treatment facilities and submit the same to his secretariat.

The chief minister also directed to work out a detailed plan with deadline and estimated cost for provision of safe drinking water and treatment of drinking and waste water all over Sindh, said a statement issued here on Monday.

He said this while chairing a high level meeting at the chief minister house on the directives of the Supreme Court to provide safe drinking water to everyone in the province and stop releasing untreated effluent into the water bodies.

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers Manzoor Wassan, Dr Sikandar Mendhro, Jam Khan Shoro, Mohammad Ali Malkani, fayaz Butt, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Advocate General Zamir Ghumro, Chairman P&D Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to CM Sohail Rajput, secretary Health fazal Pechuho, Secretary Local government, secretary PHE department, all the commissioners and other concerned officers.

Murad said that the apex court is helping provincial government for provision of safe drinking water and disposal of treated waste water. It is our prime duty to make necessary measures so that people right from Kashmore to Karachi can drink safe water, he said.

He said that there are two different targets for each and every city.

The first one is to work out a detailed plan to rehabilitate the existing water supply and drainage system along with installation of treatment plants with deadlines for implementation and estimated cost so that the funds could be made available.

This working must be completed within a week or next week and he will hold another meeting in which district-wise plans would be discussed and timeline would be set to start and complete the work.

The other assignment is the preparation of water supply and drainage master-plan for each and every district. This must be completed within next 15 days, he added.

Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro said that there are three phases of K-IV, the first phase is of 260 MGD which would be completed by 2018. The second phase is also of 260 MGD and it is scheduled to be completed by 2020 and the third phase of 130 MGD would be started in 2020 and would be completed in 2022.

Adding that work on phase-I is ongoing in full swing with mobilization of 700 different kind of machinery where 1100 workforce had been deployed.

Shoro said that in order to enhance the carrying capacity of KB Feeder the consultant, NESPAK has been hired for Rs35 million.

They have prepared PC-I titled `Water requirement for K-IV project- Improvement of KB Feeder and Keenjhar Lake worth Rs21.508 billon. The PC-I is under scrutiny.

The chief minister said that the existing water distribution system is poor and directed the water board to purse the World Bank to study the feasibility.

Replying to a question of the chief minister, the MD water board said that out of 5503 consumers, 1692 are being billed on working meters.

He went on saying that 3420 notices have been issued to consumers for installing meters and recently 286 new meters have been installed.

The chief minister directed water board to start work on filter plants that include cleaning/desilting of clarifiers, pulsators, installation of chlorinators on their own resources.

On this Jam Khan Shoro told the chief minister that Rs25 million have been earmarked for regulator operation and maintenance of filter plants, laboratories have been equipped worth Rs25 million equipment and lab staff have also been imparted training from PCSWR.

The chief minister said that the Sindh government has provided Rs446 million for chlorination and lab equipments, Rs58 million for rehabilitation of existing filtration plants and Rs3500 million for construction of new filter plants at Gharo, Pipri, Dumlotee, NEK, COD and at Hub.

"I want you to expedite the work on these schemes on war footing," he directed the local government minister.

The chief minister was told that WASA has made substantial efforts to establish new filter plant of 30 MGD at Jamshoro Road. Three out of five clarifiers have been made functional, and a new lab has been established.

The quality of water has improved at the source. Shoro told the chief minister that the provincial government has approved 21 schemes of WASA in water supply and sewerage sector for Rs11567.67 million in comparison with last financial year 2016-17.

They include construction of two new filter plants, rehabilitation of four of five water supply filter plants, rehabilitation of three sewerage treatment plants, construction of sewerage system phase-III Qasimabad etc.

The meeting was told that Combined effluent treatment plant Kotri has been made functional for Rs63.79 million the chief minister had provided outside budget.

The chief minister directed the Commissioners of Sukkur and Larkana divisions to prepare a plan for water supply, disposal of treated domestic effluent into canals and installation of filter plants and come up in the next meeting for discussion and implementation of the plan.

The chief minister directed the commissioners and secretary health to make necessary arrangements in their respective districts, including Karachi for disposal of hospital waste and hospital liquid properly.

There must be separate filtration system in the hospitals, he added and directed the MD water board to identify the areas where water supply and sewerage lines are close to each other and make them separate in efficient way.

The chief minister concluding four-hour long meeting on efficient and safe supply of drinking water and treatment of effluent and industrial waste and treatment of domestic waste directed the district administration through chief secretary, respective departments to come up with an efficient, workable solution.

"I want people of Karachi open their tap at home and boil water then drink, this must be so safe," he said.

The Chief Minister warned that he wants efficiency in this task and lethargy, inefficiency would not be tolerated.