May 14, 2004

Opposing the Project of Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP), the representatives of non-government organizations (NGOs) on Thursday said that the installation of a new plant by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) would be nothing but sheer wastage of funds.
“It is ironic that two of the three sewerage treatment plants are non-functional, while the third one is operating below its capacity and the CDA is being pushed by the finance and interior ministers to award contract for another similar plant,’ the representatives of four NGOs said while addressing a press conference.
The officials of NGOs belonging to Development Communications Network of Pakistan (DEVCOM), Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and Eco-Conservation Initiatives (ECI) urged the CDA to go for open public hearing on the proposed sewerage treatment project worth Rs. 1.3 billion before awarding contract for its installation.
They said that the French government is providing an assistance of Rs.913 million for this huge project. “The decision to undertake such a large project without stakeholders’ consultation epitomized the secretive and non-Participatory culture of decision-making in the CDA,” they said.
The NGOs asked the CDA to justify the need for the Plant as the existing three similar plants have not performed well.
They said that the government should not opt for this plant and go for alternatives that should be cost-effective and suitable to our environment. They also urged the CDA and finance and interior ministries to have stakeholders’ consultation to find out an appropriate option for sewerage treatment plant that must be more transparent, cost-effective and useful for the city.
The NGOs were of the view that the CDA should first make the existing plants fully operational and only then should think of establishing new facilities after providing their rationale justification.
They said that the construction of the envisaged hi-tech foreign-designed plant would not only be costly but it would not work for longer time in view for the similar operational experience of the existing sewerage treatment systems. “According to experts, such treatment plants require a lot of energy and highly skilled manpower and are designed for cooler environment.
The CDA should consider the use of indigenous technology, which would not only be cheaper but also more workable,” they observed.