CM orders health dept to speed up work on uplift schemes

Karachi
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah directed the health department on Tuesday to speed up the completion of 113 developmental schemes at an estimated cost of Rs16 billion for constructing health facilities in 17 districts and 41 talukas of the province.
He was presiding over a high-level meeting of the health department to review development schemes at the CM House. It was attended by finance minister Syed Murad Ali Shah with secretary Sohail Rajput, health minister Jam Mehtab Dahar with secretary Saeed Magnejo, Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, additional chief secretary development Aijaz Ali Khan, projects’ director Dr Suresh, Director-General health and senior officers of the planning and development department.
In his briefing at the meeting, health secretary Saeed Magnejo said more than Rs16 billion had been allocated for different schemes of up-gradation, expansion and renovation of district headquarters (DHQs) and taluka headquarters hospitals (THQs) with the establishment of 41 trauma centres.
He said work for the expansion and improvement of DHQs in Badin, Shikarpur, Khairpur and Mithi had been launched at an estimated cost of Rs4.5 billion.
"Around 96 percent of the work in Badin DHQ has been completed at a cost of Rs1,106,” he said. “Only final touch ups are being given now.”
Magnejo said construction work of Shikarpur DHQ had been completed by 78 percent and a total of Rs742 million were allocated for it. Similarly, he said, uplift of the Khairpur DHQ launched at an estimated cost of Rs1,610 million had been completed by 80 percent.
The chief minister reprimanded the health officials, saying that work on the ongoing uplift schemes had been inordinately delayed.
"This is intolerable and I want you to give me a time line for completing the work,” he said.
Health secretary Saeed Magnejo then went on to assure the chief minister that all the work will be completed by December 31.
Sindh senior minister for finance and energy Murad Ali Shah told the chief minister that Rs500 million had already been released for these projects. "Let the available funds be utilized first before more are released,” he said.
The projects director for the Sindh government, Dr Suresh apprised the meeting that up-gradation of THQ hospitals to the level of DHQ hospitals in Tando Mohammad Khan, Tando Allahyar and Kotri had begun. He said out of the Rs1.5 billion estimated for the projects, Rs824 million had so far been released out of the Rs772 million allocated for this year.
He claimed that 70 percent work at the Tando Mohammad Khan hospital, 90 percent work at Tando Allahyar and 99 percent work of Kotri hospital had been completed and the facilities were ready for inauguration.
The chief minister responded by remarking that he wanted to see the hospitals functional and directed health minister Jam Mehtab Dahar to take the necessary measures to start delivering health services to the people.
The health minister told the chief minister that schemes for the expansion and improvement of DHQ hospitals in six districts with the total estimated cost being more than Rs3 billion in Dadu, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Sanghar, Mirpur Mathelo and Naushehroferoze were also progressing to completion. "Work in Dadu hospital has been completed by 62 percent, Mirpurkhas 72 percent, Thatta 52 percent, Mirpur Mathelo 70 percent, Naushehroferoze 70 percent while the work of Sanghar DHQ hospital is finished,” he said.
Answering a question by the chief minister, finance minister Murad Ali Shah said he had allocated Rs450 million for development schemes for the current financial year and more funds would be released as the work progressed.
Projects’ director Dr Suresh said the up-gradation of THQs in Matiari, Umerkot, Kamber and Kandhkot had also been launched at the total estimated cost of Rs3.6 billion. He claimed more between 45 and 50 percent of the construction work on all the hospitals, except Kandhkot, had been done,” he said. "The planning and development department has yet to issue the administrative approval (AA) for awarding the contract of Kandhkot hospital.”
The chief minister directed ACS (Dev) Aijaz Ali Khan to sit with the health department and settle the issues, if any, and issue AA. "Why these schemes of public interest are being delayed. I would not spare anybody if their work is not completed in time," he warned.
On this the chief minister directed the additional chief secretary development Aijaz Ali Khan to sith with the health department and clear out all the bottlenecks for using the necessary permissions. He then asked the health minister why work on trauma centres being built in 41 THQ hospitals was being delayed to which Dahar answered that 18 facilities were completed while 83 percent work of the rest had also been completed.