Katas Raj case: Chief Justice imposes Rs 100mn fine on cement factory

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday imposed a fine on DG Khan Cement factory for water theft and making a false statement before the court in Katas Raj Temple pond case, ARY News reported.

The two-member bench chaired by the CJP heard the case at the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry today (November 19).

Citing a statement of the DG Khan Cement Factory, the CJP said: “The factory administration says they accumulated water for the factory through rain, but it’s a blatant lie.”

Mr. Nisar said the court was now imposing fine on the factory for water theft and putting on record the wrong justification in the case.

He said Rs 80 million was being imposed under water cost while Rs 20 million for making a false statement before the court. “The entire amount of Rs 100 million will be deposited to the dam fund,” ordered the CJP.

The chief justice also slapped a ban on the cement factory for sucking underground water from tubewells for the commercial purpose.

Tubewells can be used only for water provision to residential areas, he added.

On Nov 14, the Supreme Court had constituted a committee to inspect cement factories sucking underground water of Katas Raj temple in the Potohar area of Rawalpindi division through drill bores.

During prior hearings of the case, a representative of the cement factory told the judges that some 80 thousand gallons of water is consumed by one cement plant. In a nutshell, factories suck water through drill bores, which results in severe drop in the level of subsoil water, causing hardships to the local residents.

Similarly on Nov 16, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar had ordered owners of the cement factories to refill the pond of Katas Raj temple at all costs.