Municipal officials admit to issuing licences

In a surprising revelation made during a hearing at the Sindh High Court's (SHC's) circuit bench in Hyderabad on Thursday, municipal officials confessed to issuing licenses to businesses operating on footpaths, roads and in public places.

The bench, comprising Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan, was earlier informed by the Hyderabad deputy commissioner (DC) Fuad Ghaffar Soomro that when they initiated an anti-encroachment drive on footpaths and roadsides, traders showed them licences issued by municipalities.

Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) administrator Safdar Bughio and the Qasimabad Municipal Committee (QMC) administrator admitted that they had issued the licences during the local governments of elected representatives.

"All such purported licences are void and as such, the purported licences don't have any right, title and interest with respect to the portions of footpaths, roads and public places," the court ordered.

Both the administrators were directed to clear all encroachments, including those issued the purported licences, before the next date of the hearing slated for March 2.

The DC and administrators of HMC and QMC submitted undertakings to the court, stating that they would remove encroachments within 30 days.

The bench directed the Hyderabad DIG and Hyderabad SSP to provide assistance and protection for anti-encroachment operations.

The DC informed the court that a taskforce had been constituted for the inspection and survey of roads and streets as per the January 27 order of the SHC.

The bench had ordered a fortnightly inspection and survey of all roads and streets in Hyderabad followed by action within 48 hours of identifying an encroachment.

The court directed that a performance report of the taskforce should also be submitted at the next hearing.

Earlier on Wednesday, the court had summoned the DC and other concerned officials on a one-day notice. The officials were asked to submit an undertaking with regards to implementing a regime of a regular anti- encroachment campaign.

Hyderabad additional DC Tabraiz Sadiq Mari had conceded that despite repeated efforts by the district administration for the removal of encroachments, the problem still existed on the district's roads and streets.

"This situation is indeed alarming," the bench had then noted.

The bench had also stated that in the instant petition pertaining to an encroachment on a 60-foot-wide public road adjacent to Waqar Town- a housing scheme in Qasimabad- the SHC had time and again ordered action to remove illegal structures since 2012.

"This clearly shows that the city administration and the law enforcement agencies have failed to perform their duties in accordance with the law," the court had observed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2021.