Environment polices implementation urged
13 July, 2005
ISLAMABAD, July 13 (Online): The civil society organisations Tuesday demanded government to implement policies of National Environmental Quality Standard (NEQS) for the provision of safe water and environment sustainability.
While addressing a press conference here at Islamabad-Rawalpindi Press Club, Zahid Ali of Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) said that quality of water is worsening day-by-day, as the government has remained slow in implementing policies and legislative framework available to check water quality deterioration.
He said that NEQS was established about 13 years ago yet their implementation is selective.
Zahid stressed upon the government and the Parliament to actively oversee the implementation of this policy in letter and spirit.
“Government should release allocated resources in time and carefully follow the progress on the implementation of this policy,” he added.
The member of CRCP demanded of the government to fulfil all its commitments to cover the whole population for provision of safe drinking water till 2008.
He said that this is an alarming fact that even after a lapse of 13 years after the establishment of the (NEQS) these standards just remain a set of wishful national aspiration. Implementation of this policy will save our fresh water resources from industrial and municipal pollution, he added.
“Parliament not only formulates notional policies but also ensures its implementation,” he said.
He expressed grave concern over death due to poisonous water in Zhob, Lahore, Muzzafarabad and Hyderabad. He said that the rate of water-borne disease and deaths has reached an alarming stage.
The main reason of these deaths is due to contaminated water.
Zahid said that Pakistan was one of those countries where most of the citizens had no access to safe drinking water. One third of the total population have no access to safe drinking water and 76 per cent people live without sanitation facilities.
“As many as 40 to 50 per cent ailments, 60 per cent hospital admissions are caused by contaminated water inflicting huge losses to human and economic resources of Pakistan,” he said.
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