KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday summoned the health secretary and the director general of the Sindh Food Authority (SFA) to inform it about the mechanism to provide safe drinking water to all citizens.

It deplored that the state has not fulfilled its responsibility to provide safe drinking water to people.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito directed the respondents to file complete record of bottled water companies and issued notices to them about these proceedings.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Nestle Pakistan Limited challenging the regulation of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation Act, 2023 about fee and permission for extracting subsoil water.

At the outset of the hearing, the KWSC chief, regional director of Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and assistant director of the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) were in attendance and sought more time to file their comments.

The bench said that Mohammad Vawda and Dr Shahab Imam had provided their assistance and they submitted that there was no mechanism to check the water supply by the bottled companies. The court appointed both the lawyers as amicus curie to assist it.

The representative of PCRWR contended that according to their investigation, the Indus River water was not safe for drinking.

He also submitted a quarterly report of bottled water quality which showed that they took samples from different water companies and examined the same as to whether the water was safe for drinking and they found that 90 per cent of such water as safe.

The bench termed the report a smoke screen and directed the officials concerned to file a comprehensive reply to the queries raised by the court as well as other respondents.

During the arguments, the bench was informed that it was a provincial subject and the KWSC was competent to issue licence to the bottled water companies.

However, it had also come on record that there was no proper checks and balances as well as regulations to curb illegal business of unregistered water companies, it added.

The bench in its order also noted that on the directive of a Supreme Court-mandated water commission, 47 water testing labs were established and machinery was purchased.

However, due to non-approval of Schedule of New Expenditure (SNE), such labs were not functioning and the SHC Sukkur bench had also issued some directives on the subject matter, it added and directed the chief secretary of Sindh to ensure approval of SNE.

The bench said in order to seek further assistance on this issue, it was directing the health secretary and the SFA head to appear in person and must assistant the court by placing the names of experts who can bring mechanism to curb this menace and to provide safe drinking water to people.

“It is the responsibility of the state to provide safe drinking water which they failed to do so despite the country of rivers and federal registering authority is nowhere as to how many mineral water companies are registered and functioning in the province,” it added.

Adjourning the hearing till Aug 27, the bench said it would decide on the next date whether to appoint a commission to examine the issue.

It stated that the court would also examine whether the KWSC was competent to issue licence being provincial subject or otherwise and added that any expert from the society can come forward and place any material before the bench.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2024