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Judicial body tells PSQCA to explain supply of contaminated water

By Our Correspondent
July 31, 2018

The Supreme Court-designated judicial commission investigating the non-provision of potable water, proper sanitation facilities and healthy environment to Sindh’s people on Monday took notice of the supply of contaminated water to the Peoples Medical College Hospital Shaheed Benazirabad.

Headed by Justice (retd) Amir Hani Muslim, the commission directed the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) to explain how local companies are allowed to supply water without maintaining the standards required by the law.

The judicial body was informed that the water being provided for patients and their attendants at the Shaheed Benazirabad hospital and to other establishments is not fit for human consumption.

The commission was also informed that samples of water have been collected from different wards of the hospital and it has been learnt that even the dispensers installed at the health facility provide unsafe water.

Senior Research Officer Dr Ghulam Murtaza of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, who is a member of the judicial body’s task force, said the private company responsible for supplying water is prima facie not registered with the PSQCA.

The accounts clerk of the hospital, Mohammad Saleem, said the hospital administration has been paying Rs250,000 a month to the private company supplying the water. The commission directed the PSQCA chief to appear before the judicial body and explain how such local companies are allowed to supply water without maintaining the standards required by the law.  

Funds re-appropriation

The commission took notice of the health and finance departments defying the orders of the judicial body by allowing the re-appropriation of funds for purchasing new machinery and equipments.

The commission observed that the amount fixed for potable water was not spent in the larger interest of the public and that the health and finance secretaries wilfully defied the judicial body’s orders, directing them to file their comments on August 7.

The commission ordered that until such inquiries are pending, the new provincial government shall not transfer the present health secretary without the permission of the judicial body.

Contract violation

The Sindh Solid Waste Management Board’s (SSWMB) managing director informed the commission that the private companies tasked with lifting garbage in the South and East districts were not complying with the terms and conditions of their contracts.

He said the private contractors were not utilising the machinery brought by them and have also withdrawn the human resources in violation of the terms of their contracts.

The judicial body issued notices to the private companies to appear on August 1 to explain why their contracts should not be rescinded or why the penal clauses should not be invoked against them for their wilful defiance of the terms of their contracts.  

Construction debris

The Sindh Building Control Authority’s (SBCA) DG informed the commission that construction materials and debris on roads have been removed, but the permission for their dumping was granted to local builders by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) under the Karachi Building & Town Planning Regulations.

The judicial body observed that the regulations are not applicable for encouraging any builder to use any part of the city outside the plot line for dumping debris.

The commission observed that after the construction of the buildings, the debris continues to be strewn on roads and streets, and neither the KMC nor the SBCA ever showed any concern, as the clean-up operation was hampered by them.

The judicial body directed the KMC, district municipal corporations (DMCs) and the SBCA to ensure that any debris or construction material shall not be allowed on roads or streets, and they would be removed by the people involved in construction work or else they shall be removed on their expense through the SSWMB.

The commission directed the KMC and DMCs not to grant permission for temporary encroachments in any public place as defined by the SC in an earlier case relating to billboards.