A directive issued by the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the Punjab government to complete a short-term project for cleaning up the River Ravi’s water in three months is commendable. The present situation of the river is horrific. The river has been converted into a drain as it has continuously been receiving wastewater from Shadbagh, Shahdara, Main Outfall Road, Babu Sabu (Gulshan-i-Ravi), Multan Road and Hadiara drains. The dumping of pollutants into the river has badly affected water and food quality and hence human health. So far, successive governments have failed to do the needful to resolve the issue of the pollution-ridden Ravi. For years, waste from houses and factories is being dumped into the river. In fact there is a lack of environmental consciousness. The incumbent Punjab government has evolved a costly long-term project to better utilise the river. However, it has failed to implement any of its plans due to a wrong set of priorities where the environment falls to the lowest level. As pointed out by River Ravi Commission Secretary Advocate Rafay Alam, due to the waste of local factories being thrown into the river, the whole ecosystem is under serious threat. At least 42 different kinds of fish and other species are facing the risk of extinction due to the contaminated water. The government needs to pay attention to the environmental hazards associated with the polluted water of the river that is a main source of irrigation for agricultural lands lying on the periphery of Lahore and other areas in Punjab. The baleful effects of this polluted water on crops and vegetables that are ultimately consumed by citizens are unimaginable. The concerned authorities need to take prompt action to shut those channels and drains that discharge contaminated water into the river without treatment. All those factories that discharge polluted water need to install wastewater treatment plants. If the government is planning a long term project along the bank of the river, it needs to make sure that wastewater is treated before it is discharged into the river. River Ravi is a beautiful asset of Lahore. Instead of making it a model river through well planned development strategies, it has been turned into a stigma on the face of Lahore. Emitting a foul smell, the river can no longer offer the enjoyment of boating or fishing to citizens courtesy the lack of interest of the Punjab government in public interest ventures. Keeping in view the bad effects of polluted water on agriculture, the government needs to stop waste discharge into the river and install wastewater treatment plants along the river so that the flora and fauna could flourish and citizens could breathe a sigh of relief. *