CJP orders cleaning of Karachi in a week

Apex court summons private companies over advance payments received from provincial govt

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) issued notices on Saturday to the heads of all private companies that had received advance payment from the provincial government to execute water and sewerage-related projects in the province.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, further directed them to appear in court to explain what progress they had made by the next hearing.

These notices were issued by the judge bench that also comprised Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah on an interim report submitted by the judicial commission at the SC's Karachi Registry.

The CJP told the chief secretary that the commission's interim report was an eye-opener. He remarked that the federal government was providing funds and asked what was happening in Sindh, as a very grim picture had surfaced.

The secretary said that there were some short-term and long-term projects and work on the short-term projects was being carried out 24 hours in three shifts. He admitted that some companies had received advance payments, but they ate up the money and did nothing.

However, he maintained that the conditions were improving and disclosed that those companies that had received advance payments but did no work had started returning the money to the government.



The CJP asked him to name the companies and said all of them would be summoned to the court next week.

The top judge asked the chief secretary whether he had any objections on the commission's interim report, to which the officer said he had not gone through it yet and requested more time.

The CJP observed that collection of garbage and its disposal was the duty of the Karachi mayor, asking Wasim Akhtar to explain what he had done.

The mayor complained that the provincial government had assumed all the powers, adding that the SC had already passed an order that municipal functions were not the duty of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), but the government was not implementing it.

The chief secretary admitted that four to five tons of garbage was not being lifted in Karachi.



The CJP remarked that this means that the mayor was right, as it was the function of the district municipal corporations, which work under the provincial government.

The chief secretary said lifting garbage in the city had started and the entire system was being computerised due to which the situation was not improving immediately and would take some time.

Justice Nisar observed there was a need to sensitise the people. He asked that if the system had been improved, why was it not fully-functional.

The chief secretary said four contractors were lifting garbage in city. The CJP told him that there was garbage everywhere in Bath Island.
Dr Farogh Naseem, who represented the mayor, said that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) only had the staff, but the Sindh government was running the whole system. He alleged that the government was not implementing the court's order to dissolve the SSWMB and transfer the authority to the district municipal corporations.



Akhtar said that the drains were choked and the city had piles of garbage, adding that city's condition was at its worst.

Justice Arab remarked that this was the duty of the KMC. The mayor said that the KMC had staff, but the contracts were being awarded to Chinese companies.

The CJP said he spent a whole night killing mosquitos at his residence in Bath Island locality.

The chief secretary admitted that there were some roads in the city which were not cleaned for as long as six months, but the situation was gradually improving.

However, Justice Shah told the chief secretary that his government was not providing funds to the KMC.

The chief secretary said four of the city's six districts had been outsourced for garbage collection and disposal. Justice Shah asked him to visit the drains which had been choked by garbage.

"Do you mean we should visit a couple of nullahs?" the CJP asked the chief secretary, who remained silent.

The CJP remarked, "I want Karachi cleaned in one week."



The mayor said that the Sindh government had retained the powers of tax and revenue collection and requested that the revenue collection authority should be transferred to the local bodies and civic agencies.

Addressing the mayor, the CJP said, "You have received votes from the public, keep aside the government and serve the masses."

Justice Nisar observed that the judicial commission was doing the right job and the SC would not interfere in its matters. The bench referred the matter of solid waste to the commission to decide as to whether the function of collection and disposal of solid waste should rest with the local government or the DMCs.