LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday rejected an initial proposal to impose charges on bottled drinking water, reaffirming that access to safe drinking water should remain a public service.
The construction of 864 water filtration plants had commenced across various districts of Punjab, while work on an additional 1,913 filtration plants would begin shortly. Under the pilot project, 10,000 bottles of 19-litre clean drinking water are being supplied free of charge in four districts.
Chairing a special meeting on the Punjab Saaf Pani Authority, the chief minister reviewed progress on the ongoing bottled drinking water pilot project and directed that daily progress reports be submitted for the four participating districts.
She also instructed the deputy commissioners of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Khushab to obtain public feedback on the initiative and assess the daily demand for clean drinking water in their respective districts.
The meeting reviewed proposals to deliver clean drinking water to households through water tankers.
The chief minister directed authorities to complete 1,886 water filtration plant projects across Punjab at the earliest.
The meeting also reviewed recommendations for establishing 670 bottled drinking water plants throughout the province. Of these, 335 plants will each have a production capacity of 5,000 litres, while the remaining 335 plants will each produce 10,000 litres of clean drinking water.
A proposal was also presented to establish 4,020 distribution points for the supply of bottled drinking water.
The meeting was informed that 860 bottles of clean drinking water are being supplied daily in Khushab, 780 bottles in Rahim Yar Khan, 1,500 bottles to remote areas of Koh-e-Suleman in Dera Ghazi Khan, and 2,780 bottles in remote areas of Bahawalpur.
The CM also directed that the number of trucks transporting clean drinking water be increased to ensure uninterrupted supply. She said providing clean drinking water at people’s doorsteps was her commitment, adding that every citizen of Punjab had the right to safe drinking water. “Wherever clean drinking water is not available, bottled water will be delivered under all circumstances,” she said.
The chief minister observed that it was deeply painful to see people, particularly women and the elderly, carrying water on their heads. She termed it regrettable that many drinking water plants across the province were not fully functional. She said the time had come to end the hardships faced by people in remote areas who were forced to travel long distances under the scorching sun to fetch water.
“By the grace of Almighty Allah, we have made it possible within a short period to deliver clean drinking water to households,” she said, adding, “Under the Clean Bottled Drinking Water Project, millions of litres of water were being delivered daily to people’s doorsteps with dignity and respect.
Clean drinking water is not merely a public facility; it is a firm guarantee of the people’s health, comfort and dignity.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026