ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has summoned the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, Maroof Afzal, on Wednesday in a billboard case.

He has been asked to explain in person that why transparency was not maintained in awarding licence for installation of billboards on different highways and expressways of the capital city.

The CDA chairman will be appearing before a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja.

The bench is hearing a suo motu case regarding award of licence without following relevant rules.

The issue cropped up when a company Messers Mega Signboards moved an appeal before the Supreme Court against cancellation of the company licence by the CDA without prior notice.

The company was issued licence to erect 24 billboards on different highways and expressways in 2012 but the number of billboards was later reduced to 11.

The licence was then cancelled on August 2013 without any prior information to the company.

As a consequence, the company moved a petition before the Islamabad High Court with a plea that abrupt cancellation of the licence inflicted millions of rupees of loss to the company.

The petition was however dismissed by the high court.

The company then moved the Supreme Court through an appeal which was also rejected but the apex court decided to keep the matter open by taking a suo motu notice of the award of contracts by the CDA in a whimsical and non transparent manner.

The apex court also appointed Advocate Zulfikar Khalid Maluka as amicus curaie (friend of the court) to assist the court in the matter.

During the proceedings the court deprecated that on one hand the CDA was earning millions by even allowing placing of billboards on the rooftops but showed no interest in arresting rising environmental degradation in the city.

The court also deplored that workload on the Supreme Court would end considerably if the governance on part of the government was improved for the benefit of the people.

The court then asked Advocate Hafiz Hafzur Rehman who was representing the CDA to direct the chairman to appear in person before the court on Oct 1 and explain who was responsible for awarding licences of billboards without following rules.

The chairman will also explain why licence issued in favour of the company was cancelled without a proper notice and who will be responsible for the financial loss the company suffered.

Published in Dawn, October 1st , 2014