–SC asks NDMA to clean nullahs, remove encroachments in Karachi
KARACHI: Observing that neither the Sindh government nor the local government is working on removing the encroachments, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to clean up all the nullahs in Karachi and remove encroachments along them.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, issued these directives while hearing a petition related to encroachments on nullahs in the port city.
The top judge remarked that the Sindh government is a “complete failure” and its people are only enjoying themselves.
Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani presented a report to the court over operations undertaken by the authorities against encroachments. However, the court expressed dissatisfaction with the report and instead lambasted the Sindh and local governments over lack of progress. The court also directed the Sindh government to assist the NDMA.
The report said that Karachi has 38 major nullahs and 514 small nullahs which are under the control of the DMCs. The commissioner told the court that the NDMA is working on cleaning only three major nullahs of the city. The commissioner told the court that people had been living on land encroached on the mullahs for the last ten years.
“The Sindh government has done nothing for the people. You did nothing in the last 20 years,” remarked CJP Ahmed.
To this, the Sindh advocate general intervened and informed the court that when the government goes to remove the encroachments, people start “attacking” them. He added that a “law and order situation” gets created.
“This is the writ of your government. Where is the writ of the government in Karachi?” asked the CJP for the government lawyer’s response. He remarked that the city is full of sewerage water and people walk on streets by placing stepping stones on the water.
Meanwhile, Justice Faisal Arab also expressed his disappointment with the state of affairs in the province, deploring that people have to approach the courts for water and electricity.
“There is a mafia operating here. There is no law,” said CJP Ahmed. He added that the “complete government machinery” was involved in how the situation was in the province.
During the hearing, the attorney general of Pakistan informed the court that the federal government is closely looking into the matters of Karachi.
“We are looking at all constitutional and lawful options,” the attorney general informed the court. He added that Karachi is a metropolitan city and no one can see its metropolitan city being “destroyed”. “I cannot give my final word on Karachi but a decision will be made soon,” the attorney general told the court.
