Cess on use of underground water: SC summons Sindh CS for not complying with its order
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Wednesday summoned Chief Secretary Sindh for not complying with its order to legislate on imposing cess on the use of underground water.
A three-judge special bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, heard the suo motu related to selling of bottled water, extracted from the ground without any charge and its fitness for human consumption.
The bench expressed concern over not framing a law by the Sindh government for imposing cess on underground water. Justice Maqbool Baqar said one year had passed and the Sindh government still had not made the law.
He said how much time the Sindh government needed to make a law for cess on underground water.
Justice Bandial said that the Sindh government had not taken the apex court order seriously.
He, therefore, directed the Sindh chief secretary to appear in person and file a reply on the next date.
He said if the reply would not be satisfactory then the Court would take action against the provincial government.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan asked what the other provinces have done on the legislation to impose cess on underground water. Additional Advocate General Punjab informed that the provincial government in 2019 had already passed an Act for imposing cess on the underground water. Additional Advocate General Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa stated that the KP government had adopted Punjab government law for imposing cess on underground water.
The AAG Balochistan stated that the provincial government had prepared the bill for imposing cess and it would be tabled in the Balochistan Assembly in the next session.
The Court directed the provinces to submit comprehensive reports on the cess on underground water and adjourned the case until April 29th.
The apex court, in August 2019, had directed all the provinces and the federation to prepare a draft in four weeks for deciding the prices of underground water.
It said that points which needed legislation included transfer of money in water tax account and installation of flow metre.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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