Supreme Court slams ‘poor administration’ in Sindh

Judges say billions of rupees spent yet no work is being done by govt officials

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) expressed on Friday its extreme displeasure at the poor state of administration in Sindh, observing that billions of rupees were going 'here and there' but on the ground no work was being done.

"Of Rs100, Rs90 go here and there and only Rs10 are spent," remarked Justice Gulzar Ahmed, who headed a two-judge bench hearing a suo motu case regarding contamination of water in the Manchar Lake.

The judge remarked that work can be done if at least 60% of the allocated funds are utilised. His remarks came after the irrigation department's secretary admitted that two reverse osmosis plants installed to supply clean drinking water to the residents of the fishermen settlement near the Manchar Lake were lying non-functional.

The deputy attorney-general informed the court that the federal and provincial governments had agreed on completing the remaining portion of the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) I, II and III projects.

The provincial irrigation secretary informed the court that the federal government had approved the project and hoped that the required funds will be released soon.



This led the bench members to believe that the provincial government was getting funds from the Centre so that it could award contracts.

The judges told the secretary that his department's role had just become to receive and disburse funds, adding that this was what was actually happening in Sindh.

The bench members inquired from the advocate-general, Barrister Zamir Ghumro, who will clear up this mess. He replied that the Sindh government was clearing the mess in order to resolve the issues.

Justice Ahmed told the law officer that the problems will not be resolved by merely collecting funds and said work should also be done practically.

The irrigation secretary informed the bench that 23 ROs plants were installed at Manchar Lake, but only two of them were not functioning. The residents complained that the contaminated water had resulted in an outbreak of hepatitis and other diseases, but no fresh water was being discharged in the freshwater reservoir.

Justice Ahmed told the officers that a case will be lodged against the government officers concerned, if a single person died from typhoid. He observed that the cases should be registered against every corrupt officer, as this was the only remedy to the ailment. The judge told the irrigation secretary to resolve the problems being faced by the residents.



The secretary said the water level is expected to rise in the Sukkur Barrage in a few days, adding that water will be released into the Manchar Lake from the Arhal Canal by August 7.

The bench directed the irrigation secretary to get the out of order RO plants functional and submit a report within one month.

The court said the residents will be at liberty to start litigation against the provincial government if they failed to perform their duties.

Secretary's irresponsible attitude

The same bench, meanwhile, asked AG Ghumro to inform the provincial chief minister about the 'irresponsible' attitude of the land utilisation department secretary. He was also directed to submit a report on the CM's response to the secretary's irresponsible attitude towards his job.

The bench was hearing a case regarding alleged encroachments of 24 acres of land in Karachi’s District West of Karachi. The court had issued a notice to the secretary of the land utilisation department to submit a report in this regard.



During Friday's proceedings, the secretary, Aftab Memon, appeared in the court.

The bench members inquired from the secretary why his department had failed to save the land in question and what steps were taken to end encroachments.

However, the secretary was unaware of the facts and could not give any satisfactory answer to the court's queries. This attitude visibly irked the judges, who told the advocate-general to check the level of competency and sense of responsibility among the government officers.

AG Ghumro tried to rescue the secretary and kept apologising to the apex court's bench. Justice Ahmed observed that it seems that the civil service had been flattened in Sindh.



He observed that the level of competency was that an officer, who was serving in grade-22, was not aware of anything about his own department.

The judges directed the AG to inform the chief minister about the 'irresponsible attitude' of the secretary and also convey the court's displeasure over the conduct of the senior officer of his stature. AG Ghumro undertook to do so.

The judges further directed him to submit a report to the court about the CM's response to the secretary’s attitude. The law officer was also directed to submit a report about the actual ownership of the 24 acres of land in question, which was allegedly under illegal occupation.