SHC directs KMC, SSWMB to remove rainwater, garbage from Karachi

The Sindh High Court has directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and other civic agencies to remove garbage and rainwater accolated at different areas of the city on a war footing basis.

Issuing directions on the petition of Laiq Akhtar against the non-removal of garbage and no proper cleaning of water storm drains in the city, the SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Khadim Hussain M Sheikh, observed that apparently due to the failure of the sewage system and non-disposal of the garbage, many areas of the city had been inundated under rainwater mixed with sewage and garbage.

The court observed that the situation posed a high health risk of more epidemic diseases at the time of the coronavirus pandemic. The court directed the KMC and other civic bodies to immediately remove the dirty floodwater and garbage from the affected areas of the city and submit a compliance report.

The court observed that the SSWMB deputy director had unleashed a comprehensive plan to ensure cleanliness and effective collections, transportation and disposal of animal waste and offal and such operations shall be monitored through a comprehensive system to ensure no lapses and that the campaign shall be managed in such a manner that such areas were cleaned and cleared by the evening of each day event.

The court directed the KMC and other civic agencies to ensure that remains/waste and offal of all sacrificial animals were timely collected, transported and disposed of by the evening of each day event making the metropolitan city clean and clear. The court directed the provincial law officer and the KMC to file a comprehensive report by August 13.

Islamia College case

The SHC has recently issued notices to the provincial secretaries of college and school education, principals of the Islamia colleges of arts, commerce and science, and others on a contempt-of-court application against them for disobeying the court orders.

Filing the contempt-of-court application before the SHC, the Islamic Education Trust submitted that despite a clear direction of the Supreme Court, the alleged contemnors had not handed over the possession of the Islamia colleges complex to the official assignee, deposited rent of the June and July, utility bills and property tax.

The counsel for the applicant, Syed Mureed Ali Shah, submitted that the alleged contemnors had violated several directions of the high court and Supreme Court orders and were liable to be proceeded for disobedience of the court orders.

He submitted that the apex court had dismissed the civil petitions of the provincial administration against the ejectment order of the SHC with regard to the premises of the Islamia College and maintained the SHC order with regard to the ejectment.

He submitted that the Supreme Court had directed an additional advocate general and a counsel for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to bring to the notice of the relevant authority that any failure to deposit monthly rent and up-to-date utility bills would entail consequences for the officer concerned as well.

He said the court also observed in the order that the rent had been unjustly denied by the provincial government and pursuant to the direction, cumulative rent for the period from February 2006 to July 2018 was directed to be deposited before the matter proceeded further.

He submitted that the alleged contemnors had violated the directions of the court orders.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Abdul Maalik Gaddi after a preliminary hearing of the application subject to the maintainability of the application issued noticed to the advocate general Sindh, prosecutor general and alleged contemnors, and called their comments on August 17.