ISLAMABAD (APP): Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the National Highway Authority (NHA) report on dilapidated condition of N-25 highway and sought report on repairing of highways and accidents.
A three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi heard the case and expressed annoyance over the performance of NHA.
During the course of proceedings, the Chief Justice questioned the Member Admin NHA as to where the funds received by the National Highway Authority were utilized. NHA roads damaged by rainwater, he added.
He said that NHA was responsible for killing of people in traffic accidents.
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said that NHA had become a corrupt institution as petrol pumps, hotels, shops had been leased on highway lands.
According to the 2018 report, 5,932 people were killed in 12,894 accidents while today’s news was that 36,000 people lost their lives in road accidents this year, he added.
The National Highway Authority Member Planning Shahid Ahsan said that the condition of the roads would be improved by the end of this year.
Chief Justice said that the NHA was not doing standard work on any road as people were dying on the roads due to NHA’s negligence. Not even trees were planted on the sides of the highways, he added.
He said that the contractors in the NHA were engaged in minting money. The NHA got so much money but it was not known where these funds were utilized, he added.
Later, hearing of the case was adjourned till date in office.