Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar Monday criticised the caretaker government for failing to complete the cabinet.

“How expectations could be attached with the caretaker government, which had failed to complete the cabinet,” said the CJP while heading a three-member Supreme Court bench hearing a suo motu case pertaining to acute shortage of water in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The CJP said that the existing five-member cabinet could not effectively run the country. During the hearing, the chief justice said he would request interim Prime Minister Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk to personally monitor the issues of water and power and summon a cabinet meeting on war footing basis in this regard. He said that caretaker government should not be dissolved until the water issue was resolved.

He said half of the population in the federal capital was facing an acute shortage of water, while water level in Khanpur, Rawal and Simli dams was touching the dead level. He pointed out that there was concrete everywhere in Islamabad due to which rainy water was not recharging the underground water. The court was told by the Union Council-12 chairman that Bahria Town’s chief executive Malik Riaz had installed several illegal tube-wells in the area, which had decreased the level of underground water.

A PPP leader and former Pakistan Baitul Mal managing director Zamurd Khan told the court that a water tanker was being sold at a whooping Rs 8,000 in Rawalpindi instead of Rs 1,300. He requested the court to direct the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board to fix the price of the water tanker.

The Cantonment Board CEO stated that 60 hydrants that were operating in the past had been shut down on the orders of the government.

The chief justice remarked that resolving the issue of water was the responsibility of the federal government. He said that the attorney general should hold an emergent meeting over the water issue. The additional attorney general told the court that a summary regarding funds for water projects in the federal capital would be approved in the coming week. He added that funds would also be released next week.

The additional attorney general also submitted a report, stating that 120 million gallons of water per day was required for Islamabad. He said currently only 58.71 million gallon water per day was being supplied to Islamabad.

A representative of Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) told the court that WASA Rawalpindi and Cantonment Board owed Rs 1 to them, while IESCO owed Rs 2.4 billion to them.

He said during the last two and half years, the previous government had not paid even a little amount to the IMC. He said IMC was paying salaries to its staff by borrowing from CDA.

During the proceedings, the chief justice expressed dismay over the newly appointed attorney general for not attending the court. The court regretted that advocate general was also absent during the hearing of such an important case.

The environment director general informed the court that there were no arrangements for sanitation of nullahs. He said Rawal dam was full of garbage. The chief justice then noted that the apex court was left with no option but to intervene due to inaction on the part of the government departments to check violations of the law. Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing till tomorrow (Wednesday).

Published in Daily Times, June 26^th 2018.