KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to clean all drains and remove encroachments around them within three months in Karachi.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed was heading a three-member bench, comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, hearing a petition against illegal encroachments on drains at the Karachi registry.
The Chief Justice asked Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shallwani about the ongoing cleaning work on Karachi sewerage drains. The commissioner informed the court that NDMA has cleaned the city’s three main stormwater drains, while there are 38 large and 514 small drains in Karachi.
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad told the advocate general Sindh that the provincial government has ruined the city which is filled garbage and sewerage water. He said the Sindh government has completely failed and there was destruction everywhere.
The chief justice expressed displeasure over the performance of the provincial government and said that city has been ruined in the last ten years. “What is the responsibly of the Sindh government if everything has to be done by Supreme Court?” he remarked.
The Supreme Court directed NDMA to clean all Karachi drains and remove encroachments around them in three months. The court also ordered the Sindh government to assist NDMA in the process and removal of encroachments.
“NDMA will look after encroachments and other matters, besides cleaning drains,” remarked the bench. “Sindh government should provide assistance to the NDMA,” ordered the court.
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