Daily Times

KARACHI: The federal and provincial authorities appeared to have been dragging their feet to file their response to a petition against the construction of deep sea container port project as the Sindh High Court on Thursday for the umpteenth time directed them to submit their respective replies.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar directed the ports and shipping ministry, environment and tourism departments, and Sindh government to submit their response within four weeks.

It directed the petitioner to file amended title of the petition naming federal ministry of commerce as respondent. The court asked its office to issue notice to the newly included party to file comments before the next date of the hearing. “Upon failure, the relevant official shall be called in person,” the court ruled.

Back in 2012, Abdul Jabbar Khan, who resides in an apartment near Clifton beach, had petitioned the high court against the construction of the port, contending that it would deprive the public of a recreational site. However, the respondent authorities, except Karachi Port Trust (KPT), have yet not responded.

During previous hearing on March 20, 2016, the court had observed that the petition is pending since 2012 but comments have not been filed by the respondents.

The court had earlier in Dec 2014 allowed the request of the authorities for more time to file response with a warning, “by way of sheer indulgence and strictly as a last chance, three weeks time was granted.”

“The federal and provincial authorities have been deliberately dragging out the matter for they now this would unlock Pandora box since Japanese experts had advised against developing the port on Clifton beach,” said Advocate Abdul Wahab Baloch, who is representing the petitioner.

“The project would have been viable if it would have been developed towards west wharf for there were already infrastructural facilities connecting it with the rest of the country.”

In the petition, Jabbar had named the ministries of ports and shipping, environment and tourism department, Karachi Port Trust, Karachi commissioner and the deputy commissioner of the South district as respondents.

He submitted that the deep waters are about a kilometer off the seashore the only beach accessible to the public that offers recreational and entertainment opportunities.

He said the beautiful rocks are a natural gift for the safety of humans as well as wildlife as they play an important role against earthquakes. “The lives of millions of people in Karachi may be at risk in natural disasters because heavy dredgers were dismantling them to make room for the terminal’s construction.”

The petitioner said that earlier an international agency had conducted a survey for the deep sea terminal, suggesting to establish it at the western waters. “However, the authorities concerned decided to establish it on the eastern front for the reasons best known to them.”

He said that with the construction of the port, the public would be deprived of their fundamental rights and pleaded the court to declare the construction of the deep sea container terminal illegal and permanently restrain the authorities from building such a terminal.

In response to the court notice, the KPT’s counsel had filed its comments, stating that petitioner had no locus standi to institute the litigation as he was not aggrieved by the project in any manner.

“With the construction of deep sea container port fundamental right of the citizens would not be violated as they had already access to the beach.”

The KPT said that the project would help boast country’s economy and create job opportunities for millions of people. Deep sea container port would be built and developed according to international standards and it will be equipped with modern technologies to facilitate ships, vessels of all types to dock and move cargo to and from land.