SC summons CDA chairman on water scarcity

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday called Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman over severe water shortage in the federal capital.

During the hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar observed: “The owners of the tube wells are acquiring water for free and selling to residents of the federal capital, which is causing water shortage.

During the hearing on suo motu notice over water scarcity, eight alleged owners of tube wells, additional attorney general and officials from the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad were present in the court. One of the suspects, Zamrud Khan, told the court he did not own one but said the entire Cantonment is full of tube wells as the whole area has a severe water crisis. He requested the court to issue orders for supply of water through alternative sources before the tube wells are closed down as Cantonment Board and Capital Development Authority are not cooperating with each other over the issue.

To this, the chief justice remarked that water shortage is mainly being caused by the owners of tube wells. A representative of Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, who was present in the court, said they would impose taxes on the use of tube wells. When asked how many days the authority would take to levy the tax, the representative sought 15 days.

The chief justice sought details on tube wells from CDA, Cantonment Board and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad. He also ordered reply on the issue from the executive office of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and managing director of Water and Sanitation Authority within 10 days.