Flood Commission's report: Supreme Court orders implementation of recommendations

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the federal government and all provincial chief secretaries to ensure implementation of Flood Commission's recommendations. The court issued these directives during the hearing of a case pertaining to implementation of the Commission's recommendations. According to a private television channel, a three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heard the case.
The court also issued notice to Marvi Memon to appear before it during next date of hearing of the case. During the hearing, the chief justice inquired from Sindh's additional advocate general as to why the commission's report had not been made public. He added that damages had been estimated at Rs 855 billions, whereas 85 lives had been lost.
The chief justice further inquired regarding the measures taken to obstruct the flow of the rivers, adding that nothing had been done to alleviate the excesses. He added that the Punjab government was bore more responsibility for not obstructing the flow of the rivers as all rivers pass through the province.
A representative of Sindh Irrigation Department told the court that 25 percent of the encroachments in low-lying areas had been cleared. Upon this, the chief justice directed that a Google Earth satellite image should also be submitted as proof that the encroachments had been removed. The court directed the federal government and all provincial chief secretaries to ensure implementation of every recommendation made in the commission's report. Later, the hearing was adjourned for three weeks.