'K-Electric blackmails people; is just making money,' says CJP Gulzar Ahmed

• Apex court expresses annoyance at KE's performance.
• Says it will not allow establishing a grid station on greenbelt.
• Gives KE's counsel time till Friday to get directives for the removal of the grid station in question.

KARACHI: K-Electric (KE) is just making money, said Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed during a hearing at the Supreme Court's Karachi registry on Thursday.

A three-member bench, headed by CJP Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Qazi Amin, was hearing a case pertaining to the construction of a KE grid station over the greenbelt in the metropolis.

At the outset of the hearing, the top judge expressed annoyance at the K-Electric's performance.

"Why did the K-Electric have to build the grid station on the greenbelt?" CJP Ahmed inquired.

Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan inquired from the counsel representing the Pakistan Employees Cooperative Housing Society (PECHS) whether K-Electric was "supplying them electricity [for a special reason] because of which the society's administration provided K-Electric with the land for the grid station."

At this, the counsel replied that they had provided K-Electric with the land at normal rates for the sake "greater good of society".

"What greater good of society? K-Electric is doing business, not public service," CJP Ahmed said.

The counsel representing KE said while addressing the CJP that "you may know very well about Mehmoodabad and PECHS."

At this, CJP Ahmed responded positively but remarked that the court will not allow establishing a grid station on the greenbelt.

"KE is a private company which may establish as many grid stations as it wants but the electricity load shedding will never end," he said, adding that ask people about the situation in their areas wherever grid stations were built.

CJP Ahmed also lashed out at KE's services, saying that it "removed copper wires from the entire city and earned billions of dollars in a day", adding that instead, the company installed aluminium cables across the city that cannot bear the load.

"KE is only making money," CJP Ahmed said. "It blackmails people and charges money from them for electricity that is stolen."

During the hearing, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan inquired about how much time would it take to remove the grid station from the greenbelt in PECHS. Meanwhile, Justice Amin told KE's counsel that "it is a straightforward matter that the KE is a private company, therefore it cannot be allowed to occupy the government's land for its grid stations."

At this, the counsel maintained that he may be able to provide an answer after consulting with the relevant officials.

The court gave the counsel till tomorrow (Friday) to get directives for the removal of the grid station in question.