They say residents face serious hardship due to deteriorating condition of University Road
Frontier Works Organization restarts work on University Road. PHOTO: MURTAZA WAHAB/X
KARACHI:
After years of traffic chaos, broken roads and daily misery of commuters in Karachi’s busiest corridor, the Sindh High Court on Thursday ordered the government to make University Road fully operational within two months and declared illegal the sealing of machinery belonging to the contractor of Lot 2 of the BRT Red Line.
A two-member constitutional court announced the verdict in a petition regarding sealing of the contractor’s office and machinery linked to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project.
In its ruling, the court observed that the residents were facing serious hardship due to the deterioration of University Road and directed the Sindh government to ensure uninterrupted movement of public and private transport on the route.
The court stated that the provincial government could allocate or reallocate additional funds to complete the work within the stipulated time frame. However, he made it clear that construction activity for the BRT project should not disrupt the flow of traffic on University Road under any circumstances.
The court further observed that the BRT Red Line project was expected to become operational in October 2027.
According to the written order, if TransKarachi considers that the machinery is necessary under clauses 17, 18 and 19 of the agreement, it may retain possession of the machinery in accordance with the contract. However, the matter must be referred to the Dispute Resolution Board.
Read more: Part of BRT Red Line project delivered to FWO
The court ordered that if the board does not issue a decision within 30 days, the machinery should be returned. He also noted that disputes related to the BRT Red Line agreement would be resolved through arbitration and the dispute resolution mechanism.
The written judgment further stated that the Advocate General of Sindh informed the court that of the project cost of Rs 16,000 million, Rs 15,000 million had already been paid. It was also claimed that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had reclaimed the Aladdin Park land after the expiration of the lease agreement.
The court ruled that the petitioner remained free to pursue legal remedies under the contract in relation to the termination of the agreement. Copies of the verdict were ordered to be sent to the Sindh chief secretary and local government secretary for implementation, while dismissing the contractor’s petition.
