Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad has rebuked the bureaucracy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa terming it inept and asking the babus to leave their offices if they can’t work, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The CJP gave these remarks on Thursday during the hearing of a suo motu notice, the apex court took on the non-construction of schools which were destroyed in the October 2005 earthquake.

The chief justice ordered to make those schools situated in districts that were destroyed in the 2005 quake functional within six months. He also summoned Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) Chairman in personal capacity in the court during next hearing of the case.

The CJP asked the provincial government that despite the release of grants amounting to billions of rupees, why the KP government still had not rebuilt the destroyed schools. The court also rejected the provincial government plea to give it one-year time to accomplish the task.

CJP Gulzar remarked it seemed that education was the least priority area for the KP government. After a passage of 16 years, there is no hope that the destroyed schools will be rebuilt, he said adding that billions of rupees were allocated but to no avail. 

The apex court lamented that in some areas where the provincial government rebuilt schools, they still were not functional.

The KP government advocate general blamed ERRA responsible for non-construction of the destroyed schools. He told the court that rehabilitation of the quake-hit areas was ERRA’s responsibility. He further informed the court that the KPK government got the control of the affected areas in Feb 2020. 

CJP Gulzar remarked all this rigmarole was to shift money from here to there. He termed the KP bureaucracy incompetent. He admonished the bureaucrats for their apathy saying if the roofs of their houses were removed and if their rooms were denuded of all the furniture and air conditioners, then they would realize the difficulties being faced by the children. 

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar heard the case.

Reporter Amanat Gishkori