ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Supreme Court Monday ordered a cement company to deposit Rs 10 crore into its dam fund as it concluded a suo motu case initiated following media reports that the Katas Raj temple pond - considered sacred by Hindus - was drying out due to industrial activity in the area.
An apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, ordered DG Khan Cement company to deposit Rs 8 crore for using water and Rs 2 crore for misleading the court, the Express Tribune reported.
The Katas Raj temple complex in Chakwal district of Punjab is considered sacred by Hindus and cement companies in the area were held responsible for drilling boreholes and utilising groundwater, which eventually led to a drop in sub-ground level water and drying up of a sacred pond present at the temple site, the paper said.
Hearing the case at the apex court's Lahore registry, the bench also prohibited the cement companies DG Khan Cement and Bestway Cement, from extracting groundwater and admonished the DG Khan Cement firm for stating that the water being used was stored rainwater, the paper said.
On November 15, the court formed an inspection committee to probe the veracity of claims by the cement factories.
In Monday's hearing, the committee submitted its report to the bench.
Locals blamed the cement plants, which, they said, drilled a number of water-bores in the vicinity of the temple, to draw water for their industrial production.
Chief Justice Nisar said that DG Cement claimed to have stored rainwater, but this was a lie since they had actually obtained groundwater, Dawn reported.
During an earlier hearing, Justice Nisar had observed that the cement factories caused damage to the environment by using up the area's water as well as causing air pollution.
"The people who are not doing anything for water are not sincere with this country; those taking no measures for water (provision) are enemies of this country," he said.
He said factory owners must have used influence to get permission to establish cement factories in the area.
He also admonished a former secretary industries, Khalid Sherdil, "for giving away everything for free", at which the official responded that a no-objection certificate was not a requirement when the factories were established.
Dedicated to Hindu god Shiva, the Katas Raj temple complex originally housed a cluster of seven ancient temples, along with a Buddhist stupa and the home of a warrior - built between 6th and 13th century.
The name 'Katas' is derived from Kataksha, a Sanskrit word meaning 'tearful eyes'.
According to legend, the pond was formed after Lord Shiva wept upon the death of his wife Sati.
Hindu pilgrims from around the world visit the Katas Raj temple during the Maha Shivratri festival and bathe in the 'sacred pond'.
Some believe the water holds healing powers BJP leader L K Advani during his trip to Pakistan in 2005 also visited Katas Raj and inaugurated conservation work being carried out by the government of Pakistan.