The Supreme Court on Tuesday dissolved Sindh Water Commission and its secretariat with directives to submit quarterly report to the court regarding implementation on commission's recommendations. The court also clubbed the Sindh Coal Authority Karachi case and clean water case.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah heard the case regarding provision of clean drinking water to the residents of Sindh province.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted report on alleged corruption in installation of RO plants. The court ordered NAB to complete references regarding cases and other matters in a month. The Chief Justice said that there was no need to form a commission over the matter.
The Water Commission also submitted a report and the court ordered Advocate General Sindh to ensure implementation of the report. The court directed that quarterly report of each district of Sindh should be submitted regarding implementation of water commission recommendations.
The Supreme Court dissolved the Sindh Water Commission and its secretariat and directed Sindh Water Commission to hand over all record to chief secretary Sindh. The court said that steps should be taken for effective legislation on clean water supply.
The Chief Justice said that hundreds of thousands of rupees were plundered and not a single RO plant was installed. He expressed annoyance over NAB's performance, saying that instead of 4 witnesses, NAB made 200 witnesses in the case. He said the cases should be decided in one year but here NAB is taking six years.
The Chief Justice remarked that NAB has itself become an obstacle to the role it has to play for the betterment of the country. The purpose for which the NAB was established is over, he added. He remarked that the NAB has become an 'exploitation firm' as they put the accused for years in prison. Later, its own employees stated that the man was not guilty, he added.
The Chief Justice said that NAB should be fined billions of rupees and this amount of penalty should be collected from NAB employees as the government would not give a single rupee. He remarked that NAB does not have the ability to work. He observed that NAB's investigating officers simply do not have the capacity to carry out the investigations to logical end.
Addressing the NAB prosecutor, the Chief Justice said that he remembered a wheat case in which a man committed suicide. He said that the NAB did not file a challan against the real culprit and an honorable man committed suicide. To a question by Justice Ahsan about the ratio of conviction in NAB cases, NAB prosecutor said that the conviction rate was 70 percent. The hearing was adjourned for one week.
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