Mineral water bottles not made of food-grade plastic, Supreme Court told

ISLAMABAD: It was disclosed during the mineral water case hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the bottles carrying mineral water not being made from the food-grade plastic.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar hearing the case pertaining to water consumption by mineral water companies.

It was also informed to the bench that a water company extracting 20,000 tonnes of water in an hour in Karachi, while the land to the company has been granted it free of charge.

The bench was informed that food-grade plastic not being used in mineral water bottles. The CJP remarked that it means in hot weather the bottle’s plastic chemical would most likely to be mixed in the water.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar during the hearing observed that during his stay in Karachi he visited a water plant of a mineral water company. The company was leased out the plot for the plant free of charge. A water sample taken from the water plant was failed to meet the quality standard of the drinking water. Even the entire plant was not meeting the standards of hygiene.

An expert was of the opinion that it would be better to drink from a river then drink the bottled water of a mineral water company.

In a previous hearing the apex court bench, rejected a report submitted by the advocate general for Punjab on taxes imposed on bottled water companies.

The government counsel, while submitting the report, said the government of Punjab had divided the use of water in some categories: the companies extracting water from areas facing water scarcity would have to pay 75 paisa per litre, whereas in areas where there was no shortage of water, the companies were required to pay 15 paisa per litre.

Justice Nisar observed that the mineral water companies were themselves willing to pay 50-75 paisa, so what the government had added to it

The bench in the hearing ordered a forensic audit of all mineral water companies and demanded a weekly report to the court.