The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the performance of Capital Development Authority and summoned the Islamabad mayor and chairman National Highway Authority to inform about steps that have been taken to clear encroachments from Islamabad and its highways. A three-judge bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the case pertaining to encroachments.
AT the onset of the hearing, the chairman CDA said that encroached land along service road adjacent to Centaurus Mall has been retrieved, while anti-encroachment operation has been launched all over the federal capital. He claimed that soon all the encroachments from Islamabad will be removed.
Justice Gulzar said: "Let's go now and see how many encroachments have been cleared," adding that the Kashmir Highway and Islamabad Expressway are in bad conditions. He said there are no overhead bridges for pedestrians on big roads in the city.
Justice Gulzar remarked that though he has been driving for the last 40 years, he finds it difficult in the federal capital. Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, another member of the bench, said that even that day barriers have been placed on Margalla Road. However, the CDA chairman told that the city would soon be cleared of encroachments.
The acting CJP said the streets of Islamabad shouldn't appear to be blocked under any circumstance. The reflectors placed on the streets of the capital are also not working, adding that there shouldn't be u-turns on a big road in Islamabad.
Justice Gulzar also expressed concern over lack of public transport in Islamabad. He asked why there is no public transport facility in the capital. Those who don't have their own conveyance have to walk to reach the court. He said that ground trains should be running inside the city and added that people have to walk home from work.
The chairman CDA informed that they were making the expressway signal free and added that after three years the grant for the expressway has been allocated in the budget. He said that they would satisfy the court with their performance.
Justice Ahmed said that it is impossible to go to Murree from Bhara Kahu. He added that the greenbelt of the Embassy Road has also been taken over, to which the chairman of the CDA responded that work is underway for extension of Embassy Road. The case was adjourned for two weeks.
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