ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, directed the National Highways Authority (NHA) to file a report about the condition of the highways all over the country and the number of the accidents that have taken place this year.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, rejected the NHA’s report on the dilapidated condition of N-25, Balochistan Highway.

The chief justice, while expressing annoyance over the report, asked Member Admin NHA Shahid Ihsan where the Authority’s funds are spent. He said work on the roads is not up to standard, adding, corruption is going on in the Authority as the NHA roads are destroyed in rains.

He said due to the negligence of the NHA officials many people die in road accidents. He said the NHA will be held responsible for their deaths. He said corruption is rampant in the department, adding, the Authority’s lands are leased out for setting up petrol pumps, hotels, and shops. The Member Admin NHA submitted that by the end of the current year the condition of the highways will improve. The chief justice pointed out that there are no trees on both sides of the highways. The NHA contractors are busy making money. He said the NHA gets huge funds but does not know where those are spent.

The CJP observed that according to a 2018 report, 5,982 people died in 12,894 road accidents.

Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel said according to a report published in a newspaper 36,000 died in road accidents in the current year.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021