-Lashes out at Sindh govt, says there seems to be no govt in province
-Claims Sindh govt running from Canada
-Says the Sindh govt only has one plan of turning the Province from bad to worse
-Irked at administration in Karachi
-Dismisses pleas against anti-encroachment drive along Gujjar, Orangi nullahs
From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Hearing a case regarding removal of illegal encroachments in Karachi on Monday, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked that the entire country is developing except Sindh.
Taking the Sindh government to task, the chief justice Gulzar Ahmed said people in Tharparkar are desperate for a drop of water even today. “Not a single RO [Reverse Osmosis) plant was installed but Rs1500 million had been spent,” he added.
“What plan does the government have?” the chief justice asked the Advocate General, observing the situation is getting worse.
Unfortunately, the top adjudicator remarked, people rule here from London, Dubai or Canada, which does not happen in any other province. Even an assistant sub-inspector becomes so powerful that he runs the entire system, he added.
During the hearing, the chief justice also came down hard on the Sindh government over unauthorised constructions and encroachments on public spaces.
He remarked that one Younus Memon was running the affairs of provincial government from Canada.
“Your government has been in power here for many years. What did citizens get?” Chief Justice Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed questioned the top provincial law officer.
The Advocate General asked the apex court for two days’ time saying the provincial government is going to unveil the budget today (Tuesday). At this, the Chief Justice Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed questioned what did people get as the budget was presented last year too. “It is a rigmarole of figures. You just move numbers here and there.”
Passing remarks on encroachment efforts CJP asked Sindh govt, if you can’t clean a nullah, how can you run a province, asked Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, irked at the Sindh government for not paying attention to Karachi’s civic issues.The chief justice passed these remarks while presiding over a hearing of a case relating to the construction of a tower on Shahrah-e-Faisal.He spoke about the city’s main artery, Shahrah-e-Faisal, saying that it has never declined in width but has only grown.”The service roads on both sides have been encroached. Everyone is corrupt, even the commissioner is admitting that it has been encroached,” observed the CJP. He added that all the plots mentioned in the case are amenity plots.
“There is a building control authority, [but you can] give [them] money and do whatever you like. There is no government in Sindh,” observed the judge.
The court also asked the advocate general Sindh what the provincial government will do to ensure these practice are kept in check.
“Advocate general Sindh you tell us, you know everything. How can anyone else run your government? Someone will have to stand up and stop this,” remarked the court.
The top judge said that a parliamentary form of government is a strong one but reiterated that when such were the state of affairs that a provincial government cannot clean a nullah, how will it run an entire province. “We gave the orders to clean the nullah over a year ago yet there seems to be a new excuse every day,” said the chief justice.
Justice Gulzar said Rs2.6 trillion were allocated for an education project that was started in 2014 and was finished in 2017. “This money could have been used to establish a world-class university,” he said.The chief justice observed that Rs1.5 trillion have been set aside for reverse osmosis plants yet people in Tharparkar are dying of thirst.
