KP bureaucracy incompetent, must go home if can’t work: CJ

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday termed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bureaucracy as incompetent, and asked it to pack up for home if it can’t do any work. The apex court directed the provincial government to make schools in the 2005 earthquake-hit districts functional within six months, and summoned the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) chairman in personal capacity on the next date of hearing.

Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heading a bench, heard a suo motu case on the government’s failure to construct schools in the earthquake-hit districts of the province. The court sought an explanation as to why despite allocation of billions of rupees, these schools were not reconstructed. The court rejected the plea of provincial government seeking one year-time for accomplishing the task.

“Billions of rupees were allocated for these schools but the result is zero so far,” the chief justice observed, adding that areas where schools have at all been constructed, they have not been made functional so far.

During the hearing, the provincial government said ERRA was responsible for not completing the task. The provincial law officer submitted before the court that rehabilitation and reconstruction of the quake-hit areas was the responsibility of ERRA, saying that the provincial government was given the control of affected areas in 2020.

The chief justice described the provincial bureaucracy as incompetent for mismanaging this important matter. “You will feel the pain only if the roofs over your houses are lost,” the CJP remarked, directing the removal of air-conditioners and furniture from the offices of officials. “Look at the splendid houses of governor, chief minister and other officers,” the CJP remarked, adding that for the last 16 years, children have been deprived of education in earthquake-hit areas.

“If bureaucracy could not work, it should pack up for home,” the CJP said, adding that the officials think that the money was allocated to them.“Whether there is any difference between the children of Mansehra and Peshawar,” the CJP asked, adding that after tsunami in Japan, the entire affected area was reconstructed in just a few months.The KP advocate general claimed that literacy rate is higher in the province than others. The court directed the KP government to submit a progress report on the issue and adjourned the hearing for a month.