M-9 project: Court issues notices to federal and provincial authorities

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday issued notices to the federal and provincial authorities concerned on a petition challenging the proposed conversion of the Super Highway into a fenced highway under the M-9 Karachi-Lahore Motorway Project.

A division bench, headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, also told the federal and provincial law officers to submit comments of the authorities concerned by the next date of hearing.

Over 300 owners of the CNG filling stations operating along the Super Highway had taken the authorities to court for designing the project - they claimed would deprive them of their livelihood. They named the secretary of the communication ministry, the chairmperson and general manger (Revenue) of the National Highway Authority, the project director of M-9 Project, the Sindh chief secretary, the secretary of the environmental protection agency and the Frontier Works Organization.

The petitioner informed the judges that recently Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had performed a ground-breaking ceremony of the M-9 Project to connect Karachi to Lahore through the motorway. They pointed out that under the project, the existing Super Highway would be converted into a fenced motorway.

This would deprive the petitioners of their right to earn livelihood, as there would be no more business left for the CNG filling stations operating along with the highway after fencing, the petitioners’ lawyer argued.

The court was pleaded to declare proposed fencing of the highway under the M-9 Project as illegal. They also requested the court to direct the authorities to convert the existing four-lane fence-free highway into a six-lane fence-free expressway, providing all other facilities of the M-9 Motorway.

The bench issued notices to the communication ministry’s secretary, the chairperson and DM (Revenue) of the National NHA, the project director of M-9 Project, the Sindh chief secretary, the secretary EPA and the FWO. The deputy attorney general and advocate general were also noticed to submit replies of the authorities concerned.