ISLAMABAD, Oct 8: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the police chiefs of the federal capital and the four provinces to launch a crackdown on hoarders and profiteers to help check the rise in prices of food items.
“It seems no effective steps have been taken to control the prices of wheat, atta, edible oil, pulses, sugar, ghee etc. The same is the case with vegetables and fruits,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in closing suo motu proceedings on the issue by the court.
Weary of the authorities’ inaction on its earlier directives in this regard, the court has now ordered the Inspector Generals of Police of the provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) directly to form teams of senior police officers and launch a concerted campaign against hoarders and register cases if found guilty of creating scarcity of items of daily use through black marketing.
Simultaneously, the court asked the federal Industries Secretary to take measures to control prices of items of daily use as it found the reports submitted by chief secretaries of the provinces on their efforts unsatisfactory.
Cancel leases of farmlands
In another order, the court required the chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to immediately cancel the leases of farmlands that were awarded for growing agri-products for the citizens of Islamabad but were being utilised for other purposes.
A four-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan had been probing why the leased farmlands were allowed to be converted into palatial farmhouses.
At the last hearing the apex court had given a month to the CDA to cancel the leases of all farms that had been turned into aristocratic farm houses.
These farmlands on the outskirts of Islamabad were doled out to the elite in the name of producing poultry, vegetables and fruit for the citizens but were converted into palatial farm houses.
Some owners of the farmlands do grow vegetables and exotic fruit, like strawberries, but seemingly only as a cover for the country houses standing on them.
Entry of the powerful elite in Chak Shahzad Scheme changed the fortune of the area as real estate price in the area rose exponentially.
Initially the law allowed only a small office for the farm manager on the leased farmland but with the passage of time the CDA eased the policy for the big shots who built huge houses there.
At least 426 agriculture plots were leased out to individuals and institutions in eight suburban areas of Islamabad, including Chak Shahzad, Murree Road, Kahuta Road and Tarlai Kalan.
Some of the big names among them are President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Senate Chairman Muhammadmian Soomro, PML(Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Senator Wasim Sajjad, former senator Dr Shahzad Waseem, opposition leaders Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Raja Nadir Pervez and several army generals and journalists.
When advocate Munir Paracha representing the CDA told the court on Monday that inspection of farm houses to discover any violation of the lease contract was proving difficult and only 100 to 125 farmhouses could be inspected so far, the CJ suggested to seek the help of the police for retrieving possession of those who were violating the lease deal.
“These lavish farm houses where lords of Islamabad are living in comfort belonged to poor people but the government ejected them by buying their precious lands on paltry sums,” Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi observed.
PPP Senator Enver Beg during the hearing deplored that not a single culprit had so far been nabbed by this government despite scams after scams of wheat, sugar and now rice. He also alleged that Rs4 billion had so far been spent on the election campaign of President Pervez Musharraf.
Instead of wasting public money on advertising campaigns or writing off each other’s loans the government should spend it on the welfare of people, the CJ observed curtly adding that whereas people were not getting relief, ordinances of all kinds were being promulgated to provide relief to each other.
The condition of poor is deteriorating day by day, the CJ said. Look at the situation in Ramzan where prices of essential commodities are increasing day by day in an Islamic country like Pakistan when in Europe prices always goes down during Christmas, he said.
Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum has complained that judiciary was interfering in the affairs of the executive but observed that when others don’t act the judiciary had no choice but to interfere.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.