The slow pace of work and change of government has put the fate of Rs225 million proposed Combined Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in the balance, exposing the eco-system of the area to further degradation at the hands of industrialists of the Hattar Industrial Estate (HIE), sources told Dawn here on Sunday. Since the Hattar-based industrial units were predominantly export-oriented ones, the non-compliance of national and international legislation regarding environmental requirements, it might expose the country to threat of non-tariff barriers under the WTO regime internationally.