Running Head: VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS

WASTEWATER IRRIGATION IN THE LAHORE CITY:

VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS

May 10, 2017

VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 2

Table of Contents

No table of contents entries found.

Abstract..3

Introduction4

Problem Definition.8

S.M.A.R.T. Objectives...8

Constraints.9

Strategies..10

Keepers 12

Experimentation...14

Conclusion17

References....19
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 3

Abstract

Wastewater irrigation is being practiced extensively in the outskirts of the Lahore city by

urban farmers to grow vegetables. Lack of fresh water availability for irrigation and deep

groundwater levels are found to be the main drive for farmers to use this easily available

cheap but low-quality water. A huge amount of heavy metals is present in this wastewater,

which comes from the untreated disposal of industrial effluents in the citys drainage

network. Wastewater discharge regulations are not implemented strictly, therefore there are

no strong checks for industrial units regarding the quality of water which is discarded into

city drains. On the other hand, there is no regulation to stop the farmers from using this water,

which ultimately causes a big problem of heavy metals transfer to food chain i.e., vegetables.

Heavy metals intake is severely hazardous to human health as it directly affects vital organs

and brain development. Long term heavy metals ingestion through food might also cause

cancer. The DOCS Key approach was used to find a comprehensive solution to the problem.

Firstly, the problem was defined precisely. Three main objectives were articulated

accordingly, including establishing a non-formal venture with leading NGOs to gain a firm

support, approaching Environmental Protection Department and Environmental Ministry for

reimplementation of dormant wastewater discharge laws, and approaching Agricultural and

Health ministry for the formulation of new laws for farmers using wastewater for irrigation.

A considerate analysis of constraints led to effective strategy making stage and strategies

were further evaluated for their relevance to objectives at Keepers stage. Fine tuning of

strategies was completed by experimentation using PERT and CPA matrix. In the last phase

of problem-solving process, implementation was executed in virtual space and all three

objectives were achieved successfully.

Keywords: wastewater irrigation, urban farming, heavy metals contamination

VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 4

Introduction

Adverse effects of heavy metals on human health is a worldwide concern, but

developing countries are still trying to figure out firm grounds to raise massive awareness in

their masses regarding this silent culprit (Hezbullah et al, 2016). Pakistan, the second largest

country in South Asia, is largely prone to contamination due to heavy metals especially in

food, drinking water, and soil (Waseem et all, 2014). Use of industrial wastewater to grow

vegetables in semi-urban areas of Pakistan has been corroborated to be an apparent practice

of toxic metals transmission to the human food chain (Akram et al 2014).

Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan with 6.3 million people living in the

metropolitan. Every year the city accommodates a surge of new inhabitants moving from

neighboring small towns and cities in search of better job opportunities and living standard

(Hasan, 2010). This gives rise to the citys ever-growing food requirement and the semi-

urban outskirts of Lahore have been transformed into vegetable farming hubs. These farms

need a constant supply of irrigation water in order to meet high demands from the city.

Pakistan is standing on the verge of water scarcity, and per capita water availability has

declined from 1,299 m3 to 1,003 m3 in a decade (1996 to 2010) and it is further predicted to

decline and reach 700m3 in next fifteen years (Murtaza and Zia, 2012).

Although a vast irrigation system exists in the peripheries of Lahore, however, due to

massive urbanization (which is causing the blockade of tertiary canals) and tedious cut-offs,

farmers find it difficult to receive their share of water for vegetable farms (Qureshi and Syed,

2014). Though most farmers rely on electric tube well pumps to supplement this need, yet

over-exploitation and receding groundwater levels along with frequent power breakdowns

have made this relatively costly for them to use groundwater (Mahmood et al, 2013). In this

sparseness, wastewater drains next to farm boundaries serve farmers as a reliable alternative
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 5

source of irrigation and helps them to keep running their farms by spending less and getting

more water.

There are eight main wastewater drains flow across the metropolitan consisting of a

network of more than 200 km in length. These drains were originally designed for carrying

excess storm water and to dispose of in rivers, however, due to dormant environmental

legislation, industries also started dumping their untreated wastewater in these drains (Hamid

et al 2013). There are mainly six major type of industries operational in Lahore including

leather processing, steel, pharmaceutical, textile, agricultural chemicals, synthetic paint, food

(dairy and poultry), and paper mills (IPD, 2008). Saleemi (1990) reported about 1,121

industrial units established without prior planning in the premises of Lahore. More than 600

steel plants and iron foundries were found as major contributors of Iron (Fe), Lead (Pb), and

Cadmium (Cd) in wastewater drains. Total wastewater produced annually in Lahore is 287

million cubic meter out of which 0.01% is treated before adding to the drainage network

(WB-CWRAS Paper 3, 2005). Industrial wastewater in Lahore carries large concentrations of

toxic metals including Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Chromium (Cr), Cobalt (Co), Copper

(Cu), Nickel (Ni), Cadmium (Cd), and Zinc (Zn), which are hazardously above the

environmental safety limits (Kashif et al, 2009).

Figure 1. Heavy metal concentration in wastewater of Lahore City comparison with FAO
irrigation water quality standards; far beyond compliance (Mahmood, Malik 2013).
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 6

Vegetables can easily absorb heavy metals present in soil with their roots and these

metals are amassed in edible portions, which is consumed by humans. Even at low

concentrations, these elements are transported to plant cells by the uptake of water during

transpiration (Yang et al, 2009 & Jolly et al, 2013). Common-use vegetables irrigated with

wastewater in Lahore city, such as tomatoes, cauliflowers, and carrots were found highly

contaminated with Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni, and Cd. The presence of metals in these

vegetables was significantly above the safe limits defined by FAO (Khan et al, 2013). Some

other daily-use vegetables such as okra, bitter gourd, spinach, pumpkin, and eggplant were

also found carrying high concentrations of several heavy metals (Farid et al, 2003).

Turnip and spinach available in vegetable markets of Lahore were analysed by Ronaq

et al. (2005) and they declared these vegetables unfit for consumption due to traces of

noxious metals. Bashir et al (2009) analysed samples of green chili and gourd grown in

wastewater-irrigated soil in the surroundings of Lahore. They found all those samples above

threshold limits of safety, and edible parts of analysed vegetables were contaminated with

heavy metals i.e., Cd, Ni, Cr, and Cu. Akram et al (2014) conducted detailed analyses of

different wastewater irrigation sites in Lahore and found a large uptake of heavy metals in

vegetables. Mint and spinach were found highly contaminated with Fe and Mn, while carrots

were laden with Cu and Zn. Leafy vegetables such as spinach, coriander, and cabbage were

found more prone for deposition of these toxic elements present in irrigation water. Tuber

vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and radishes were also more contaminated in comparison

to fruit vegetables.

These metals tend to accumulate in the body and pose long-term effects. Serious

health hazards have been observed among those people who are frequently ingesting toxic

metals through food or water. Long-term intake of contaminated vegetables could develop

chronic depositions inside kidneys and liver, which could cause an imbalance in vital organs
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 7

functions (WHO, 1992 and Jarup, 2003). Cd causes intestinal complications in the human

body and also impair kidney, liver, nervous system and heart (Cooke and Johnson, 1996)

while Pb has been found adversely inhibiting the neurological systems and causing severe

birth defects and disorders. (Abadin et al., 2007). Pb also dampens the brain development in

children (Ekong et al 2006). Chromium targets the reproductive parts and urinary system and

also causes harm to the cardiovascular system (Costa and Kelin, 2006). Heavy metals such as

Ar, Cd, Cr, Br, and Ni are known for causing mutations in body cells and they are considered

carcinogenic (Goyer et al 2004). Even though Cu and Zn have a beneficial role in human

health, however, these elements could cause serious damage to human health, when the

permissible limits are crossed. For instance, Copper can damage the liver and digestive

system if taken in excess quantity whereas overdose of Zinc can meddle with human immune

systems. (Harmanescu et al 2011).

Dormant environmental laws and failure of implementation could be seen as one of

the reasons behind this water pollution dilemma in Pakistan (Ziai, K.H. 1999). Moreover,

there is no law as such which talks about the eco-friendly and safe use of wastewater for

agriculture and industries. On the other hand, industries do not get any inducements for

incorporating in-situ wastewater treatment before dumping into the drains (Murtaza and Zia

2012). No law effectually stops farmers from using wastewater for vegetable farming and

neither Environmental Protection Department (EPD) nor municipal authorities consider this

as a problem to be taken care of under their jurisdiction (Malik, 2013). In addition, the Food

Control Authority, Water and Sanitation Authority, Irrigation and Agriculture departments

are also reluctant to tackle this problem since there is a lack of legislative backing for them.

There is also not sufficient awareness in the society regarding this issue, mainly due to food

poverty; people are less inclined to look into the origin of their daily-use vegetables and other

hygiene details regarding farms (Burki and Khan, 2015).

VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 8

Problem Definition

Precisely defining a problem is duly required for an effective environmental problem-

solving process. Finding out the real problem, which is actually causing the undesirable

situation, is a challenge. Several techniques were used to form a clearly defined problem

statement. It was started by answering future-oriented questions regarding the desired

outcome, which we will foresee once the problem has been solved. Since the problem of

industrial wastewater use has several components, there are multiple anticipations for this

problem-solving exercise such as formulation and implementation of new laws, strict

regulations for the industry, and safe irrigation solutions for farmers needs as well. These

outcomes all together could change the current scenario and one could expect a toxic metals-

free vegetables supply in Lahore. Informal techniques such as Talking it out and Repeat

Why were used to dig deeper and explore all the aspects related to the existing problem. The

exploratory writing method helped to see clusters of small anomalies which accumulate

together to form a big problem. It was comprehended that there is not enough fresh water for

the farmers and the groundwater levels have gone deeper over the time. This leaves farmers

with no options but using industrial wastewater, which is also cheaper in comparison to

pumping from deep-water wells. On the consumer side, lack of awareness and no immediate

health hazards due to metal-laden vegetables was found to be the main reason of why nobody

cares. The refined problem was ultimately articulated as In Lahore City, farmers are

irrigating their vegetable crops with untreated wastewater which is resulting in negative

human health effects amongst the consumers.

S.M.A.R.T. Objectives

By following DOCS Key approach, these objectives are specifically made to fix each

fraction of the problem. There is a measurable outcome after the completion of each sub-

objective. All defined tasks are realistic as they should be achievable to make ground for next
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 9

tasks. No objective has been set which does not lie in the spectrum of reality. In addition, all

objectives are time-bound and they all fit tactically in a bigger timeline.

The first Objective is to approach three leading NGOs to establish a non-formal

venture and this will be completed in 8 weeks time. The second objective is to approach

EPD to push them for re-implementing dormant laws of safe discharge of wastewater and this

is planned to be completed in 4 weeks time. Next objective is to approach Environmental

Ministry with the aim of pursuing support for EPD within 4 weeks time window.

Agricultural and Health Ministries will be approached subsequently to push them for the

initiation of new legislation for farmers regarding the use of wastewater for irrigation. This

objective is planned to be achieved in 3 weeks, however, sub-objectives of starting a media

campaign on local cable TV and social media to raise public awareness is a prerequisite for a

final push in last week and it be continued until the new legislation bill is passed.

Approaching members of Provincial Legislative Assembly with the purpose of clinching

necessary support for the new law is the ensuing major objective which has been planned to

be achieved in 5 weeks. Another consecutive objective is to take Regional Farmers

Association on board within 3 weeks time, as they would be highly affected by this law and

their concerns are needed to be included in the deliberation process. Consequently, the last

objective is to arrange a public awareness seminar and to invite all aforementioned

stakeholders directly related to this problem.

Constraints

Knowing the constraints of an environmental problem-solving approach beforehand

allows us to have a deep understanding of certain things, which could slow down the

initiative. 5 Whats and 1 How technique was used to explore the constraints of our problem.

It starts from the possible financial constraints since there is no available funding to run the

campaign and total dependence is upon NGOs to fund the activities. Besides, this problem
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 10

should be solved within a time-period of eight to twelve months and cannot be prolonged for

more than a year. On the other hand, legislation is also a big constraint, since no law exists to

stop farmers from using wastewater and the statutory process is time taking. In addition,

several industrial giants have strong representation in the provincial legislative assembly.

These people could create a lot of hindrances in the course of a new law making.

The lack of fresh water for irrigation and low ground water levels are also potential

constraints in the problem-solving process. Farmers have a due reason to use wastewater for

watering their crops in order to save themselves from going bankrupt. Physical boundaries

can also be seen as a constraint as our approach binds us to focus on Lahore city, though the

same practice of irrigation is being practiced in other big cities as well. There are several

assumptions which are being made to start the initiative, which includes absolute support

from NGOs, reasonable cooperation from Environmental Protection Department (EPD),

encouraging response from Ministers, and a unanimous consent of Provincial Legislation

Assembly for the approval of new bill.

Strategies

Once we are done with setting our objectives and understanding the constraints, we

can move ahead towards the fourth element of DOCS KEY, which is making strategies.

Instead of having a pre-set outcome in mind, our guidelines allow us to use exaggeration and

serendipity techniques to develop multiple strategies to achieve our goals. Twenty strategies

were made for each objective, which allowed us to bring all raw ideas on board and to see

how our uninterrupted thinking could help us in solving the environmental problem.

An exclusive strategy could be do nothing and see if the problem gets resolved on its

own. The first practical set of strategies has been formed to contact with NGOs working on

environmental problems in Lahore city. One possible strategy is to ask help from friends to

set up links with NGOs. Getting in touch with NGOs by sending them emails is also a viable
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 11

strategy. Moreover, contacting them by phone, visiting universities to ask professors for help,

and visiting World Wildlife Fund (WWF) office for any possible support are also included in

the same set of strategies.

Next set of strategies has been developed to bridging the gap between EPD and

environmental ministry in order to revive dormant environmental laws. The first possible

strategy is to focus on environmentally concerned people in EPD who could act as a catalyst

to get desirable results. Winning their trust with fine interpersonal skills and by showcasing

dedication towards finding a sustainable solution for the wastewater irrigation problem could

be a next interlinked strategy. A special atmosphere would be created during meetings so the

EPD officials may speak out about their limitations and the dire need of resources.

The subsequent strategy would be to convey the requirements of EPD to

environmental ministry in a fair diplomatic way. Physiological pressure would be exerted on

Environmental Minister by letting him know regarding the possible involvement of some

members of the legislative assembly in this initiative. As a part of the strategy, the minister

would be suggested to establish a taskforce for strict enforcement of industrial wastewater

disposal laws.

Speaking loudly for the need of new legislation for farmers using wastewater for

irrigation is the drive for the next course of strategies. A proactive approach to educating

Health and Agriculture Ministries regarding the seriousness of the problem and the need for

new legislation would be adopted. Agriculture Ministry would be pushed to officially

circulate a memo regarding the permissible limits of heavy metals in vegetables. Health

Ministry would be persuaded to publish data on chronic health issues caused due to the intake

of heavy metals in Lahore city. Media will be used as a key for spreading the word in the city

regarding the adverse effects of toxic metals in vegetables. All possible channels i.e., Cable

TV, and social media would be used.

VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 12

Convincing ten PLA members to push agricultural and health ministers to initiate the

new legislation process is also a key strategy to pave the way for our problem-solving

approach. NGOs will be using their links and influence in this regard. Regional Farmers

Association would be contacted with the help of NGOs links in the agriculture sector and

they would be asked to share their concerns regarding the suggested legislation. A seminar on

the need for new legislation would be arranged later. Agriculture and Environmental

Ministers, and PLA members along with president of Regional Farmers Association would

be invited to give their views. A post-seminar press conference would be arranged to put

pressure on all politicians to speak for the truth.

Keepers

A creative approach has been used in previous sections to develop strategies and to

place them in order as one-step elicits the next stride. Nevertheless, the how-to-guide

emphasizes a systematic approach to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies.

Apparently, this will be the beginning of a firm decision-making process and in DOCs KEY,

it has been denoted by K, which stands for keepers. Evaluative criteria has been framed to

check how well-harmonised these strategies are with the goals we have set, to solve the

problem. The weighted evaluation method has been used to assess the effectiveness of each

strategy. This is a quantitative approach in which each criterion holds a numeral from one to

ten, which represents its importance. Later, each strategy is appraised to meet listed criteria

and scores are assigned accordingly. These scores are multiplied by the importance and each

category gets an accumulated score, hence all strategies can be compared on a uniform scale.

Categories included in the evaluative criteria are following: likelihood of succeeding,

low implementation cost, less time needed to execute, few personal/ political connections

required for execution, short meetings are required, moderate level of coordination is

required, modest brain storming is involved, small travelling distance, limited data collection,
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 13

and information required, modest level of interpersonal skills required, and modest level of

technical skills required.

Several improvements were made to level up the strategies and to do the fine tuning.

Though DOCS KEY approach suggests dropping weak strategies at this point, but in our

case, most of the strategies were interconnected except for the multi-strategy approach to

contact NGOs. However, all of these strategies are placed in a keepers box as they will be

virtually implemented in the test-run stage. Results from the weighted evaluation were

analysed graphically as well. This helped to visualize the performance of several strategies in

one plot and it was easy to pinpoint the weak points and the room for improvement as well.

For instance, the strategy of spreading the word by using local cable TV and social media

makes a low score in cost category since it requires a reasonable amount of money to pay to

TV channels and to those who will be working on the social media front. In addition, cost

category has a high importance of 9 and this strategy will definitely need a recheck to bring it

to a reasonable scale of acceptance in the implementation stage.

The strategy of winning the trust of EPD officials demands a high level of

interpersonal and technical skills while the strategy of convincing PLA members for their

support can be managed by modest interactive skill since politicians have different motives

than EPD people. However, to convince PLA members several lengthy meetings are required

while EPD officials can be dealt even in short meetings. Though this kind of challenges

cannot be modified, but it helped us to prepare well ahead accordingly.

The strategies planned to contact with NGOs also have different scores on weighted

evaluation methods scale. For instance, asking help from friends did not do well in Time and

Personal Connections category while visiting professors to ask help would require a lot of

commuting so this strategy is scoring low in the travel category. Getting in touch with NGOs

by email requires less time and cost, nevertheless, this strategy has a very low likelihood of
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 14

succeeding. Furthermore, graphical representation also allows us to merge two strategies

together by devising a collective approach for an effective upshot.

Experimentation

The DOCS KEY approach also suggests using project management tools such as

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Analysis in order to find

out any pitfalls in our time management and strategic scheduling. It helped us to review our

strategies with respect to tasks coordination and organizing before we move towards

implementation. At the experimentation stage, use of PERT and CPA tools allowed us to

make adjustments in the occurrence order of our plans. We were able to calculate the time

required to execute our strategies in virtual space and the longest paths required for execution

were compared with the shorter ones. Bottlenecks (delay-inducing activities) were

highlighted and a restructuring was done in order to shorten the critical path and where

possible, avoidance was opted. For instance, the first set of strategies to contact with NGOs

working in environment sector showed bottlenecks when calling all friends and screening

friends with reliable connection with NGOs were compared in a CPA matrix. The strategy of

calling all friends was dropped since it will take more time and it was decided only to

approach friends who have some reasonable connections.

At this stage, our environmental problem-solving initiative is just a step away from

implementation. We have all fine-tuned strategies in our hand and at this stage; we can push

them forward for virtual experimentation. Doing nothing will never make a situation better so

this strategy fails during experimentation. There are optional strategies for getting in touch

with NGOs. Looking for some well-connected friends and seeking their help to set up

meetings with NGOs officials seems to be more practical. Contacting them in individual

capacity would not be much helpful as it is less likely to get a response from them in a short

time. Visiting universities seeking help from professors is also very time taking. The WWF
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 15

office might be a good place to find some contacts of NGOs working in the environmental

sector but they cannot influence them to work on a wastewater irrigation problem.

To complete the sub-objectives of our first objective, three large NGOs were

finalized, who were ready to work on wastewater irrigation problem. Consents were

documented and a non-formal cooperation deed was signed to support the venture with

human and financial resources on an equal share basis.

The next strategy is to bridge the gap between the EPD and environmental ministry.

In the experimentation stage, it was realized that finding environmentally concerned people

working in EPD would be tough for us. But after some extensive meetings with the EPDs

provincial office team, the concerned people would obviously show interest in our cause. The

NGOs officials working on this task already know likewise from their experience about

genuinely concerned persons in that office. Next strategy will be to win their trust and this

would be orchestrated by showing our sincerity and high level of determination to solve this

problem. Thinking optimistically, we assume that we have won their trust and they are ready

to tell the real reasons behind all those dormant laws regarding industrial wastewater

disposal. Those issues will be listed down and EPD officials will be assured that their name

will not be mentioned anywhere. With this practice, we now understand that this matter is

way more complicated because there are many influential industrial giants in the city who

keep the EPD from doing their job by pulling strings of politicians sitting in power. In

addition, there is a lack of workforce and funds, which is a big constraint.

In the next stage of our experiment, a meeting with Environmental Minister scenario

has been created. The plan will be to convince the minister to help EPD with funds and

human resources to ensure the strict implementation of wastewater disposal law. Since the

minister is a politician and he might be under influence of some industrial groups, he will be

swayed by the claim of huge support from PLA members. In addition, our plans to speak
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 16

loudly on local media will be shared with him. The minister knows these three large NGOs

and he knows that the public has always appreciated their eco-friendly activities, moreover,

he would expect a pressure from his fellow politicians sitting in the PLA as well, apparently

he will agree to support EPD.

Our next strategy includes a decisive step towards a formulation of a new legislation

for farmers so that they can only use wastewater for irrigation when it meets some certain

quality standards. This includes an extensive coordination in the team to push agriculture and

health ministries to initiate the request of a new law in legislation assembly. By

experimenting with this strategy, it was realized that the role of using electronic and print

media will be inevitable. Though we have planned to approach the health and agriculture

ministry at the first go, it is might possible that they do not consider our environmental

problem-solving initiative seriously. This strategy will be restructured and will be started

with an expansive media campaign. NGOs media cell will be helping us to do all the

advertisement in local newspapers and cable channels. The social media page will be handled

by our team as it needs recent updates and live videos as well. PLA members will be

approached then and will be asked to join us for discussions during local channels prime

time. For politicians, its free publicity and most of them will be lured to come and show how

much they are concerned for the health of citizens of Lahore. The good thing about this

restructured strategy is that maybe we do not even need to convince or explain to them the

whole story of heavy metal transmission from wastewater to vegetables. Thats how we will

be able to remove a bottleneck of long explanations from our activities, which was

consuming a lot of time.

After developing a certain public perception and having PLA members on our side,

this will be the time to approach health and agriculture ministry officials. They know what is

happening in the city lately and may be metals-laden vegetables is a topic of hot discussion
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 17

nowadays. By this time, we are not the only ones who are talking about this environmental

problem, other news anchors have also jumped into this and started having a similar

discussion in their talk shows for the sake of higher target rating points (TRPs). The

agriculture ministry will circulate a memo regarding wastewater quality standards for

irrigation and the health ministry will publish data about those patients who fell sick due to

consumption of heavy metals.

Regional Farmers Association will be contacted by using NGOs links in the

agriculture sector and they will be asked to share their concerns regarding this newly

suggested legislation. An initial repulsion is expected by them nonetheless they would have

to pacify their arguments since its in the media now and they are the one who are doing it

wrong. On the positive side, they will be convinced that it is their chance to highlight their

actual problem of water shortage, so their voice could be heard at a large forum and this will

make the problem-solving approach more integrated.

A big awareness seminar will be arranged and all relevant ministers, including the law

Minister and Urban Farmers Association president, will be invited as chief guests to share

their views. The PLA members will also give talks and our team will keep emphasizing on

the demand of new legislation. A press conference will be arranged after this seminar and

ministers will be asked when they will initiate the process of new legislation making. Hence,

under the pressure of media and such an effective media campaign, ministers will announce

that they will draft the new bill and will present it in legislation assembly. Since we have

several PLA members on our side, there will be less disagreement for the bill at the stage of

voting.

Conclusion

The DOC's KEY approach provided a systematic way to visualize the issue of

wastewater irrigation from an optimistic problem solvers view. Though this problem has
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 18

been successfully solved on just a virtual plane, yet it allowed us to experience the actual

problem-solving process. A deep insight has been gained by analyzing all the possible

complexities e.g., social, technical, political, and legislative barriers. By experimenting

strategies, strengths and weaknesses were examined and it helped us to perform pre-

implementation fine tuning. Prior knowledge of the political, social, and administrative setup

of the city proved to be a great asset for the problem-solving team. A holistic and integrated

approach was developed and exercised which allowed all stakeholders to interact with each

other at a public forum. Moreover, societys awareness through media made this a burning

issue which developed enough pressure on politicians, technocrats, and farmers to agree upon

a fair solution. It is hoped that this manuscript could be used as an expedient guideline to

solve the actual problem of the wastewater irrigation in the Lahore city.
VEGETABLES LOADED WITH TOXIC METALS 19

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