SC asks oil tankers to get a move on
KARACHI:
The Supreme Court has directed the Sindh revenue department to find alternative parking for the oil tankers that need to be removed from a residential area at Shireen Jinnah Colony.
A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi and Justice Ghulam Rabbani, heard the complaint of a resident, Shagufta, against the encroachment and illegal parking of oil tankers in Clifton Block 1. The counsel, representing other residents, said that despite court orders, oil tankers were not being moved. The presence of scores of giant tankers parked in the small lane had actually forced families to move from the place. Freedom of movement was severely affected by these tankers, they complained.
Meanwhile, representatives of the oil tanker owners said that although they were willing to move, they simply had no other place to park. KPT counsel Shaiq Osmany said that they had already agreed to provide space for oil tankers on its land. Sindh Secretary Revenue has submitted a summary to set up a tanker terminal at Zulfiqarabad and Mochko and the proposal has been sent to the chief minister for approval. The SC bench directed the oil tanker owners to remove their vehicles. It instructed the Secretary Revenue to examine the possible allotments of land to accommodate them elsewhere. The hearing was then adjourned till May 21.
Published in the Express Tribune, May 21st, 2010.
The Supreme Court has directed the Sindh revenue department to find alternative parking for the oil tankers that need to be removed from a residential area at Shireen Jinnah Colony.
A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi and Justice Ghulam Rabbani, heard the complaint of a resident, Shagufta, against the encroachment and illegal parking of oil tankers in Clifton Block 1. The counsel, representing other residents, said that despite court orders, oil tankers were not being moved. The presence of scores of giant tankers parked in the small lane had actually forced families to move from the place. Freedom of movement was severely affected by these tankers, they complained.
Meanwhile, representatives of the oil tanker owners said that although they were willing to move, they simply had no other place to park. KPT counsel Shaiq Osmany said that they had already agreed to provide space for oil tankers on its land. Sindh Secretary Revenue has submitted a summary to set up a tanker terminal at Zulfiqarabad and Mochko and the proposal has been sent to the chief minister for approval. The SC bench directed the oil tanker owners to remove their vehicles. It instructed the Secretary Revenue to examine the possible allotments of land to accommodate them elsewhere. The hearing was then adjourned till May 21.
Published in the Express Tribune, May 21st, 2010.