LAHORE: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday while hearing a suo motu notice regarding the provision of safe drinking water in the province summoned the Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Saeed and reprimanded him over the lack of clean drinking water available in the province.
The bench hearing the case at SC’s Lahore registry expressed concern over the alarming quantities of arsenic in drinking water in Punjab.
“What is the Punjab government doing for health and education?” the CJP asked. He also inquired about the state and quality of water provided in hospitals, schools and colleges.
“Private colleges are taking heavy fees; what is the quality of water they are providing to the students?”
The CJP asked the chief secretary to postpone all his activities and accompany the bench for a week while it was hearing cases at the Lahore registry.
He said the SC had made the government act in Karachi and now it was Punjab’s turn.
Earlier this month, the SC had summoned Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on a petition pertaining to the supply of potable water and better sanitation across the province at its Karachi registry.
The chief justice had observed that the water and sanitation situation in the province was “miserable”, adding that the CM was summoned so they could resolve the situation together.
