Islamabad: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed all four provincial governments to recover the total charges due (against a previously communicated schedule of PKR 1 per litre) from mineral water companies engaged in extracting groundwater – a news source reported.
A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, issued the orders in a suo motu case and against several review petitions pertaining to the imposition of water cess on mineral water companies and other industries.
Attorney General (AG) Anwar Mansoor informed the bench that the authorities concerned have yet to constitute a committee for monitoring the use of groundwater in accordance with the court’s directives.
He said that he was in the process of devising a comprehensive water policy in collaboration with the provincial governments and other stakeholders concerned with the issue. This proposed law will reportedly be prepared within three weeks.
In response, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan ordered all provincial governments to implement the court’s orders in letter and spirit. He said that the proposed committee would be tasked with developing a mechanism for recovering water charges from the major industrial units.
