KARACHI: The Supreme Court-mandated commission on water and sanitation in Sindh on Saturday directed the Karachi commissioner and the director general of military lands and cantonments to file a report within 15 days regarding construction under a bridge on Sharea Faisal.

The commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Amir Hani Muslim also sought a similar report from its focal person, Syed Asif Hyder Shah, within two weeks about encroachments on public spaces in parts of the city.

Earlier, the commission had summoned the secretary for local government, commissioner of Karachi, director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority, the municipal commissioner of Karachi, deputy commissioner (south), director general of military lands and cantonments in Karachi, chief executive officer of the Karachi Cantonment Board and the SSPs concerned to personally turn up on Saturday before it regarding encroachments and commercial activities under the overhead bridges and footpaths on Sharea Faisal near the FTC building, Pakistan Employees Cooperative Housing Society (PECHS), Baloch Colony and other public places.

Wall meant for outdoor advertisements was demolished on a directive of the Supreme Court, judicial commission told

When the matter came up for hearing on Saturday, the officials appeared before the court and the director of military lands and cantonments sought time to file a reply inter alia on the ground that the construction pointed out under a bridge near the FTC building was being carried out by the military authorities.

The focal person of the commission, Mr Shah, who is also secretary for the training management and research wing, said there were also encroachments under another flyover on the Sharea Faisal near Baloch Colony and other areas, adding that the issue of parking might also be sorted as link roads were encroached upon to park vehicles.

Justice Muslim asked that under what law constructions or encroachments could be allowed under flyovers and other public spaces.

An official of the Karachi Cantonment Board claimed that the wall meant for outdoor advertisements near the FTC flyover had been demolished on a directive of the Supreme Court. However, a provincial law officer said the wall was not bulldozed “completely”.

The commission observed that the matter regarding the advertisement wall was disposed of by the apex court on June 21, but it did not address the proposed construction as apparently at that point the Supreme Court was only concerned about the use of walls for advertisement.

“The commission has not been assigned the object of the nature to record any findings. However, issues of the nature on the main roads will have direct bearing on water, sanitation and municipal waste”, it added.

The focal person suggested that the Karachi commissioner and the director of military lands might hold a meeting with the relevant authorities on the issue of construction under the flyover near the FTC.

Subsequently, the commission directed both the officials to meet the authorities concerned and come up with a joint report within 15 days.

Similarly, for the remaining issue of encroachments in other parts of the city, the commission directed Mr Shah to sit with the relevant agencies and file a report within 15 days.

Meanwhile, the commission also issued notices to directors general of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and the Karachi Sewerage and Water Board, DC-East and municipal commissioner-East for Oct 3 on an application of a woman.

The woman, a resident in PECHS, complained about commercial activities in residential areas, encroachments on Khalid Bin Waleed Road and adjoining neighborhoods as well as a shortage of water.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2018