KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to submit a detailed report on the bulk water supply to the Defence and Clifton areas of Karachi.
The court was hearing petitions filed by residents of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) regarding the supply of water through pipelines and against the imposition of additional charges for water supply through tankers.
Additionally, the high court expressed its dissatisfaction with the failure of the KWSB to file comments and the non-reasonable explanation by the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) and DHA on the non-supply of water to residents.
Furthermore, the court also directed the KWSB to provide details about the water supply agreement it had signed with the CBC.
Besides, the CBC had earlier informed the high court that the KWSB had pledged to supply 9 million gallons of water per day to the cantonment board since 1999 but had failed to provide that share of water over the years, and the supply was gradually reduced to almost half.
It is to note that the residents of DHA and CBC in Karachi have filed petitions against the imposition of onerous levies and additional costs for water supply.
Moreover, the cantonment board is charging Rs. 2,886 to Rs. 108,219 for residential houses and Rs. 4,040 to Rs. 61,612 for commercial units under an annual water tax.
In addition, the petitioners have argued that no water meters have been installed and water tax is being charged as per the size of the property, not per the quantity of water being consumed.
They claim that the cantonment board is providing only 30% of the total water needed by residents and even then, they are burdened with onerous charges.
The high court had earlier observed that in case of failure to supply water, the CBC had disentitled itself from charging, claiming, or collecting water tax from residents.
Source: The News
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