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The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered the federal and provincial governments to revive the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) and ruled out any extension in the timeline. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed issued these orders when he was briefed about the measures being taken to revive the KCR, during a hearing at the Karachi Registry where the apex court resumed hearing in the KCR revival case.

Chief Secretary of Sindh, Attorney-General for Pakistan, Advocate-General of Sindh, Railways Secretary and other officials were present. In the hearing, various options were proposed and the court was told that 14 out of the total 24 sections of the KCR were creating problems in its revival.

Officials told the court that removal of encroachments on these 14 sections was not possible and suggested that elevated tracks could be constructed on these sections. Sindh government officials said that a large population would have to be uprooted "if we stick to the 1995 plan for KCR as well as Green Line and Orange Line projects will have to be abandoned".

They pleaded the court to accommodate the Sindh and Federal governments' proposals in this regard. However, the Chief Justice didn't accept the plea and ordered that KCR shall be revived in six months, and there will be no further extension. Justice Gulzar ruled that the apex court wants the KCR revived. He directed the Sindh government for clearing up the routes and removing encroachments and declared that tracks and all things related to the trains have to be managed by the Railways

Earlier during the hearing in the court room, the three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, came down hard on the provincial authorities for their negligence of Karachi's infrastructure problems. AG Sindh furnished a copy of the Master Plan and told the court that Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project and the Orange Line have been completed, while remaining projects are under construction.

He informed the court that the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are providing funding for these projects. The court observed that work should reflect the plans and maps you have handed over to the court and stated that the plan doesn't seem to be futuristic. Justice Gulzar observed that roads over all of Asia could be laid in three years when officials informed the court that work on the Green Line had kicked off three years ago.

"You had the money and the people. Why wasn't the project wrapped up within a year?" "We are working. The Green Line and the Orange Line will be made operational soon," the AG of Sindh promised. The Chief Justice also talked about the collapse of the building in Karachi a day earlier and remarked that so many people died in Thursday's building collapse, yet the responsible people are sleeping without a care in the world. "We have removed 20 people from the Sindh Building Control Authority [over negligence]," the AG answered.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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