SHC seeks reply from Sindh govt on locust attacks

Orders submissions of details on Rs310m expenditure on locust control

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court sought on Thursday a detailed reply from the Sindh government on a plea pertaining to locust attacks and crop destruction across the province.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Omar Sial and Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi, asked petitioner Mureed Ali Shah whether the locusts attacked all kinds of crops.

At this, the petitioner confirmed that the insects posed a threat to all types of crops, adding that after Tharparkar, Sanghar and Ghotki, locust swarms had now reached Naushero Feroze district.

"What are the federal and Sindh governments doing to control the attacks?" the court inquired.

The Sindh government submitted a report to the court on the matter and the public prosecutor told the court that it had sprayed insecticides in different districts, including Ghotki, Sanghar and Sukkur. Besides, the government had released Rs310 million for locust control, he added.

At this, the court asked if the entire amount was utilised for spraying just 34,000 acres of land. It further questioned the provincial government's focal person about who owned the 2,000 acres of land sprayed in Sukkur, remarking that only small farmers suffered during such crises.

Saying that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) could be assigned the investigation into the use of funds released for locust control, the court sought a detailed reply on the funds' expenditure and owners of the sprayed land, warning that if the reply wasn't satisfactory, the matter would be referred to the NAB.

The court adjourned the hearing till June 16.

According to the plea, the Sindh government has not taken any steps for locust control, due to which crops have been damaged. On these grounds, the plea moves the court to conduct contempt of court proceedings against the federal and Sindh government.

Isolation centres

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Abdullah Dasti filed a petition contesting the conversion of two educational institutes, Lyari General Hospital and Mir Ayub Secondary School and Intermediate Girls College, into isolation centres.

According to the plea, other services provided at the institutes have been suspended following the development. These institutes provide medical care to millions of people and are situated in densely populated areas, it states, adding that this move could heighten the spread of the virus in the region. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2020.