Much ado about nothing

Last year in November, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of claims that the Katas Raj temple in Kallar Kahar, Punjab had dried up as cement factories located in the area consumed more ground water than they were allowed, causing the water table to deplete. The Hindu settlements in the area that depended on this water were also affected. After months of deliberation—during which a committee was also formed—the court has ordered Bestway and DG Khan cement to find alternative source of water and deposit Rs2 billion as security while agreeing to pay for the water they use in the time that a new reservoir is constructed. All’s well that ends well?

The Katas Raj temple is one of the few revered Hindu sites still standing in Pakistan, even if dilapidated over the years due to administrative neglect. The pond itself had cultural significance as it is fabled that it was filled with Lord Shiva’s tears after the death of his wife Sati.

While the pond can be refilled, the court could have gone for a stricter punishment, part of which could have been a penalty on the over consumption of water for the past years, which caused the pond to dry up in the first place. But in an anti-climactic move, the decision was in line with the companies’ own remedial recommendations during the hearing. Some estimates suggest that the decision will cost these companies 2 percent of their earnings coming fiscal year when they buy water from Punjab government.

Surprisingly, over the past year, cement companies have faced a dramatic drop in margins (and will continue to going forward- read “Cement: Profitability takes a beating”, published April 24, 2018) because of the rupee devaluation and rising global coal prices; so 2 percent in contrast is not substantial. However, the companies will pay for the pipeline and reservoir construction that would cost more than Rs2 billion. Which is a capital expense nevertheless - one they should have incurred a long time ago.

Across the world, the term “corporate greed” often comes up as a cause of grave environmental hazards. Did the apex court have an opportunity to make this case a forewarning for industries looking to pinch pennies and take shortcuts at the expense of the environment and the consumer? Possibly.

In any case, this should put provincial governments to strengthen environment protection regulations. Strict penalties should be laid out to ensure that natural resources (forests, water, agricultural land, mineral sites etc.) are not usurped by companies for internal gains. Punjab government has already started some work on that (Read “Cement in chains”, published Jan 23, 2018), others should follow suite.