ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Friday took suo motu notice of water use by mineral water companies and directed concerned authorities to submit data over the matter.
CJP Nisar issued the directives to submit the data by Friday night during the hearing of the Katas Raj case.
The Attorney general and all advocate generals have also been asked to ensure his directives reach the mineral water companies.
“Water is very precious for us. Mineral water companies are acquiring water free of cost after installing turbines and then selling it at exorbitant prices,” the CJP remarked.
“We will take all possible measures to preserve water,” he added.
CJP Nisar added that the case will be heard on Saturday at the Lahore Registry of the apex court.
SC INVITES RECOMMENDATIONS ON WATER CONSERVATION FROM EXPERTS:
Hearing a separate case, CJP Nisar, heading a three-member bench, considered forming a special committee for water conservation and invited experts to give recommendations on the issue.
He said that if the water is not conserved today, one day it would become more expensive than gold, oil and gas.
“Water should not be used so excessively,” he said. “Nations always conserve their water [resources], and we will also have to take measures to do the same,” he added.
“Punjab officials are responsible for wasting valuable water”, he said, adding “Their total water cess is two billion but they manage to recover even less than a billion.”
During the hearing, Justice Umar Atta Bandial also pointed out that the irrigation system in the country is very old.
“A lot of water gets wasted due to sewerage and leakage, and this needs to be reviewed from scratch,” he said, adding, “We will have to hear from those experts who have conducted a lot of research on underground water.”
Justice Ijazul Ahsan stressed, “There is a need to make Pakistan’s canal system more effective as well”.
