SC orders restoration of KCR within a month

KARACHI: Supreme Court of Pakistan Karachi Registry on Thursday directed the Sindh government and related authorities to restore the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) within a month.

A SC bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed hearing a petition seeking restoration of Karachi in its original shape and restoration of Karachi Circular Railway, directed the Sindh government to restore KCR within a month. However, it expressed annoyance at Sindh government and relevant authorities for not implementing its orders given in January.

The bench asked the secretary railways that why the circular railway was not restored despite its orders?

The secretary replied that they will hand over the vacated land of railways to the Sindh government. ‘’We will not give you more than two weeks to get vacated the encroached railway land; you have one month to run local trains and circular railway,’’ the bench remarked.

Justice Gulzar directed the secretary railway to remove encroachments from railway’s land within two weeks. ‘’Federal government, Sindh government and Mayor Karachi will provide alternate places to the affected of railway lands,’’ the bench ensured.

The bench directed the Sindh chief secretary to launch an anti-encroachment operation with the help of the Karachi mayor and other relevant officials to clear the railway lands from encroachments.

The bench also directed the Chief Minister of Sindh, Commissioner Karachi and railway authorities to make KCR functional within a month.

The bench also expressed annoyance at the Mayor Karachi over the poor conditions of roads and streets in megacity Karachi.

Last year, the Supreme Court had directed the authorities to immediately revive the Karachi Circular Railway.

The top court directed the civic authorities to clear all railway tracks across the city of encroachments.

The Divisional Superintendent of the Pakistan Railways informed the court that railway tracks in various areas of the city had been encroached upon.

However, the bench directed the Sindh government and relevant authorities to submit progress report pertaining to circular railway and local trains on next hearing.