HYDERABAD: The Supreme Court mandated Commission on Water and Sanitation here Saturday ordered Secretary Local Government to review a report of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) recommending termination of service of 627 daily wages staff.
Justice (R) Amir Hani Muslim, the Commission’s Chairman, directed the Secretary to review the report, take a decision and inform the Commission within 7 days.
During a meeting chaired by the Chairman at the Judges Lodges, Managing Director of WASA Agha Abdul Raheem and Additional MD Saleemuddin Arain submitted the report.
The report listed the total number of staff employed on daily wages and description of their jobs while recommending that the agency wanted to retain 977 out of 1,604 daily wage workers.
Vice Chancellor of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Prof Dr. Bikha Ram Devrajani assured that the 4 filtration plants built in Liaquat University Hospital would be handed to the hospital’s management on Saturday.
The LUH will provide operators for the plant, Prof Devrajani and Medical Superintendent of LUH Dr. Abdul Wahab Wadho agreed before the Commission.
The Commission was shocked to notice that the cost of the cemented structures in which the filter plants were installed was higher than the cost of the 4 filtration machines combined.
The 4 structures, 2 each built-in LUH Hyderabad and LUH Jamshoro, were constructed by Public Health Engineering Department from the funds of LUMHS.
“In the given circumstances the commission is constrained to order an inquiry in order to fix responsibility on the officers who traveled beyond their mandate. The Commissioner Hyderabad shall probe the matter and submit report,” justice (r) Muslim ordered.
The Commission directed MS of LUH to ensure that the 4 filter plants operated round the clock while also directing the Assistant Commissioners to conduct regular monitoring.
“The MS and Additional MS of Hyderabad and Jamshoro will be held responsible if anything goes wrong with the filter plants,” he warned.
During the meeting, the VC complained that LUMHS had paid the demand note for providing 2 express feeders for the university but the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company had delayed the installation for months.
The Commission directed HESCO’s Chief Engineer to meet the VC on November 12 and resolve the issue at the earliest.
Justice (r) Muslim directed SSP Hyderabad Sarfaraz Nawaz Shaikh to implement the order of the Sindh High Court with regard to the smooth flow of traffic in Hyderabad, especially around LUH.
The MS LUH had complained to the commission that the road outside the main entrance of the hospital was occupied by an illegal taxi stand and other public transport vehicles.
An inquiry conducted by Commissioner Hyderabad Muhammad Abbass Baloch on the Commission’s directives found that the main sewerage drain in Hyderabad SITE area had been encroached by the industries.
The encroachment and consequent blockage of the drain had rendered the SITE area’s drainage system non-functional, the Commissioner informed the Commission.
Baloch further pointed out that portions of the service roads had also been encroached by certain industries in the SITE area.
The Commission ordered the Sind Industrial and Trading Estate’s (SITE) officials to immediately remove both the encroachments while asking Commissioner Sindh to submit a complete report on the matter in 7 days.
Justice (r) Muslim also heard 11 officials of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) who were reverted to the lower grades by Secretary Local Government.
“If any representation has been filed by the employees of HMC, the same should be sent to the competent authority by the Secretary Local Government,” he ordered, noting that the secretary’s position against himself hearing the 11 officials were correct because a higher forum needs to be approached.
During the meeting, Regional Director of Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Munir Ahmed Abbasi informed that he had been repeatedly issuing notices to the municipal authorities to stop the violation of dumping and burning solid waste around residential areas but to no avail.
After hearing the complaint, the Commission inquired about the status of acquisition of land for the landfill sites for Hyderabad and Jamshoro.  It was later informed by the officials that a summary for only one piece of 100 acres land for Jamshoro district had been approved by Sindh Land Utilization department so far.
The summary for 100 acres of land for Hyderabad was still in the process, the officials added. Later, the Commission visited Rani Bagh, Zoo and Abbass Bhai Park. Justice (r) Muslim expressed dismay over lack of cleanliness and burning of solid waste and warned the officials of action.
Deputy Commissioner Hyderabad Syed Aijaz Ali Shah, Mayor Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) Syed Tayyab Hussain, officials of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and other departments also attended the meeting.