Waste management board establishment was illegal, argues mayor's lawyer

SHC told there was no provision in the law for creation of SSWMB by Sindh govt in presence of LG system

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) was informed on Tuesday that there was no provision in the law for the establishment of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) by the provincial government in the presence of the local government system and the metropolitan corporation.

Representing Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar in the plea seeking devolution of the waste management board Barrister Farogh Naseem argued that the functions, authority and limits of institutions had already been defined in the Constitution and the relevant laws clearly.

Barrister Naseem argued that waste management and cleanliness was a basic function of the local bodies, therefore, there was no legal provision left for the provincial government to set-up a solid waste management board in the presence of the local bodies system.



The lawyer further argued that the court could pass orders against the provincial departments for not giving due powers to the local governments. He added that the matter was more political than administrative, as political dynamics in Sindh were different than other provinces.

The Sindh government, which is led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), had not been cooperating with the local government of Karachi, which is led by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan, Barrister Naseem told the SHC. People of Karachi were suffering due to the negative attitude of the Sindh government towards the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, he added.

The bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, adjourned the hearing till Wednesday (today) when Barrister Naseem will further advance his arguments.



 

Case history

The Karachi mayor had filed a petition in the SHC in which he had maintained that the SSWMB was established under the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board Act, 2014, and was being run by the Sindh government since its establishment.

The mayor had referred to a Supreme Court (SC) verdict, where the apex court had observed that the 'non-functional board [SSWMB] has never performed and should be dissolved to local bodies as provided under the rules of business'. He had contended that despite the directives of the SC, the relevant provincial authorities had not taken any step to transfer the functions of the board to the elected local representative bodies.

Akhtar had pleaded to the court to direct the relDevolution of power, ddevant authorities to transfer all the assets falling under the umbrella of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board Act, 2014, to the local government institutions.



He had further requested the SHC to direct the respondents to give complete details of all the funds, which they had received for the purpose of solid waste management, and to appoint a reputable auditor to audit the financial matters of the board.