KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday issued orders to concerned authorities to finish work on the Lyari Expressway – a work in process since 2003 – by December 21.
The two-judge bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, ordered the authorities to open the two tracks comprising the expressway to the public by January 1, 2018, adding that strict action against those found responsible will be taken in case of non-compliance.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by those whose lands had been acquired for the construction of Lyari Expressway but who had yet to be compensated.
The petitioners, Bilal Haroon and five others, nominated the federal finance secretary, provincial chief secretary, Karachi commissioner and Lyari Expressway rehabilitation project director as respondents of their petition.
The petitioners informed the court that the federal government had acquired their lands located in Sher Shah and Sohrab Goth localities in 2006 for the project against assurances of monetary compensation. They said that the government had promised them Rs20,000 per square yard as compensation for the land it acquired. However, they claimed, they had not received the promised compensation despite approaching the authorities several times.
Advocate Shoukat Ali Shaikh argued that the plots of the petitioners acquired for the Lyari Expressway measured between 1,000 and 2,100 square yards. He recalled that the federal finance ministry had, in 2014, released the compensation amount to the provincial finance department, adding that the then provincial finance secretary made payments to the contractors of the construction work, but ignored the petitioners.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the lawyer informed the judges that on October 25, the court had ordered the respondents to ensure that the payment was made to the petitioners at any cost within one month.
He mentioned that the court had also observed in the past that financial considerations were involved in the matter and therefore warned to refer the matter against the officials concerned to the National Accountability Bureau.
Advocate Sheikh pleaded to the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against then provincial finance secretary who did not compensate the petitioners despite the court’s clear directives.
The bench observed that the project had to be completed in 2013 and the Sindh chief minister had announced this year that both the tracks will be made fully operational by August 14, but nothing had been done so far.
They further observed that since the expressway was the government’s commercial project, as toll tax was collected from the motorists, its cost had increased from Rs3 billion to Rs23 billion during the period since it was launched.
The bench also noted that citizens had to remain stuck in traffic jams due to the delay in the project’s completion.
Advocate Shaikh pointed out that the National Highway Authority (NHA) had to complete this project, therefore, NHA authorities may be called to explain the timeframe for its completion.
The bench directed the petitioner to implead the NHA chairperson as a respondent in the petition so that notice could be issued to him.
Meanwhile, the bench directed the office to communicate a copy of its order to the NHA chairperson for intimation. Next hearing on the matter was fixed for January 16.
