KARACHI: Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday ordered National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to clean all drains in Karachi by directing Sindh Government to provide all necessary support to authority in this regard.
NDMA will look after encroachments and other matters, besides cleaning drains in three months, a three-member bench of SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed ruled while hearing the case regarding encroachments at nullahs at Karachi Registry.
During the hearing of case, CJP expressed annoyance at the dismal situation of cleanliness in Karachi, stating that the Sindh government has "completely failed" in the province. "Provincial government had "turned entire Karachi into a goth", CJP remarked while addressing Advocate General Sindh.
"The entire city is filled with filth and sewerage water," said the chief justice . "Mosquitoes, flies and germs are everywhere. People are walking on stones [to cross sewerage water]," he added.
"Is this how a mega city is run?," asked Justice Ijazul Hassan. Encroachments are only removed when the court takes action, he remarked.
During the hearing Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Javed apprised the apex court that the Centre is mulling over various legal and constitutional recourses for Karachi.
"Karachi is an orphaned city currently," said AGP Javed. "The federal government is considering various legal and constitutional options to save the city," he added.
The AGP said that, at the moment, he wasn't in the position to state what those options might be, but a detailed discussion was held with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Meanwhile, Sindh advocate-general said encroachments in Karachi will be removed within two months. People react strongly whenever authorities move to remove encroachments, he said.
CJP asked Advocate General how many years has it been since you have been in power?"
"This is our commitment towards you (court)," said the provincial government's lawyer in response to a question raised by the CJP.
"Your commitment should be with the people. But what have you done with them?" retorted Justice Gulzar. "The situation is bad from Karachi to Kashmore. Wherever one goes, the situation is the same," he added.
He asked the advocate general about the public-private partnership boards on at Sindh's highways. He asked: "What is this? We can't allow such work to be carried out. How can you award a contract to someone else?".
The chief justice said that there was "total destruction" and that Sindh government had "totally failed".
He also argue: "Who will rectify the province? Do we ask the federal government to rectify the province." Who will provide the people with their basic rights?"
Justice Faisal Arab lamented that people have to move the court to avail even basic facilities such as water and power. "I belong to this province as well but look at the situation here," he said.
Talking about the dismal state of affairs in the province, the chief justice said that mafias are operating in the city and that there is no rule of law in the province.
"The entire government machinery is involved [in Karachi's deteriorating situation] including the bureaucrats," said Justice Gulzar. "Billions of rupees are being earned, illegal documents get registered," he added.
Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shallwani told the court that there are 38 large drains in the city. He said the NDMA has cleaned three of the city's clogged drains.
To this the CJP asked why the NDMA was not asked to deal with all of the city's drain. No arrangements were made prior to the arrival of monsoon rains, he remarked.
The CJP argued: "Who will improve the condition of the city. The situation in Karachi is alarming. There are no roads, no electricity, no water... where is the writ of the government".
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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