HYDERABAD: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed the civil administration in the drought-hit Tharparkar area to adopt a proactive role in continuously discharging its responsibilities with regard to the relief work in a suitable manner.

A division bench comprising Justices Munib Akhtar and Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro passed a detailed order, which also specified the role of teams to be formed by the Tharparkar district and sessions judge in a meeting scheduled to be held on May 15.

Tharparkar Deputy Commissio­ner (DC) Asif Jameel, Diplo Assis­tant Commissioner (AC) Ghulam Mohammad Korejo, Senior Civil Judge and Relief Inspecting Judge (RIJ), Tharparkar Mian Fayyaz Rabbani, Additional Advocate General Allah Bachayo Soomro and counsel for the petitioners were present in court.

Due to the strike of lawyers to mark the anniversary of May 12 mayhem, the judges heard the matter in chamber.

The Tharparkar DC had submitted a report along with detailed annexure in response to the RIJ’s report.

The bench said: “We are not interested in empty justifications being given by civil administration and a reply being made to specific allegations howsoever serious they may be, as made by petitioners or in the report of relief inspecting judge.”

It said: “It looks for civil administration to adopt a proactive role so that it actively and continuously discharges its responsibilities of people of district in a suitable manner.”

The court wanted the DC and ACs not to take a limited view of the proceedings/orders and look at them in a correct perspective.

The court directed the officials to attend the May 15 meeting to be chaired by the Tharparkar DJ and also attended by the RIJ and the petitioners’ counsel.

The area SSP is also directed to attend the meeting.

It said that if the DJ was satisfied that the relief work was progressing in a suitable/timely manner and this would continue he would nonetheless, in order to satisfy this court and himself, depute one or more teams headed by one or more judges to visit such area(s) to ensure relief work as per law as claimed by the civil administration.

Each team — headed by a judge — would be accompanied by the area AC and DSP.

The court empowered each team as a commissioner acting for the high court to visit any area, examine the record, enter any place, take measures of any stock and take actions as the judge in charge deems appropriate.

It said that any person, who attempted to delay, frustrate, interfere with or interrupt work/visit of team, the judge in charge would report it to the DJ and the high court.

It authorised the DJ to form a team headed either by himself or an additional district judge and such team shall inspect/examine any illegality, irregularity and failure.

It shall be accompanied by DC and the SSP to be mandated to act in terms as stated in this order.

All teams would work under the high court’s directives.

The court expected the DC and SSP to extend full cooperation to the DJ as his team’s scope covered the entire district.

“We look for proactive action being taken in fact and we therefore expect these teams will act accordingly”, it observed, directing that the teams constituted shall start work immediately even if it meant they would have to continue inspections on Saturday and Sunday.

The teams shall prepare reports by May 19 and submit to the DJ, who shall hold a meeting that day at 3pm to be attended by the DC and SSP.

The order said that the judge, the DC and the SSP shall prepare a consolidated report for proceedings before this court.

The court directed its additional registrar that for the consolidated report to be submitted on May 21 at noon he shall remain in touch with the DJ throughout this period.

If any impediment from any source is reported by the DJ to the additional registrar he shall communicate it to Justice Shahnawaz Tariq, the third judge of the bench.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2015

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