KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday ordered to remove all the billboards fixed at public places, flyovers, streets, green belts and footpaths in the provincial metropolis within a period of 15 days. A three-member bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar conducted the hearing in Supreme Court’s Karachi registry. Justice Saqib Nisar expressed concern over the cutting of trees overnight in the city for the installation of billboards. Justice Ameer Hani Muslim remarked that nothing is more important than human life. Advocate Javed Mir informed the court that illegal billboards and signboards are being put up in Clifton on the directives of a minister. The court after concluding the arguments ordered to remove all the billboards in next 15 days and instructed that neither a new agreement will be made nor an older one will be renewed in this regard. Justice Saqib Nisar also directed the relevant departments to inform the court in written about the code of conduct with regard to billboards so that the responsible authorities could be questioned. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the removal of billboards and hoardings installed at the public properties under any license or lease in the provincial metropolis by the end of this month. The apex court also directed the authorities concerned to remove all the hazardous and eye-soar billboards installed without the permission within the period of 15 days. The clear cut directives from the Supreme Court of Pakistan were given to adopt a uniform system for billboards in Karachi but has not been implemented since last two years. The Supreme Court has ordered to remove all dangerous and hazardous billboards from various areas of the city and spare the city from becoming a jungle of haphazard billboards. The Supreme Court has also directed to implement the clauses of by-laws regarding distance between billboards, their design, width, height, size and most importantly their supporting base to ensure stability and uniformity. As many as 17 stakeholders, governing the provincial capital had agreed to remove all the large, dangerous, illegal and hazardous billboards. However, none of them has implemented the orders of the apex court despite passage of two years. The comparative study of by-laws of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and cantonment boards is also to be carried out to ensure uniformity in this regard. The Supreme Court further directed to install billboards outside the airport, containing basic information regarding Karachi and the province so as to apprise the people coming to Karachi specially foreigners about Karachi and the province and also directed to accelerate the work of identification of dangerous and dilapidated buildings and vacating the same as soon as possible. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, six cantonment boards, five military land, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim Authority, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills, Sindh Police had issued permits for billboards in its territory. In a verdict, the Supreme Court stated that advocate general of Sindh and the additional attorney general had told the court that hoardings of any nature cannot be allowed to installed on public properties. According to verdict, “There is no law which permits KMC, DMC, cantonment boards or any other agency in Karachi to install hoardings on a public property”. The additional attorney general has been directed to hold meetings with all the stakeholders who grant permission for installation of such billboards in Karachi to finalise the amendments in the proposed by-laws applicable beyond the public properties. The court directed the authorities concerned to submit their compliance reports in the light of referred directions.