KARACHI: The meeting of the newly-constituted coordination committee of the federal, Sindh governments decided to remove the encroachments from storm water drains of Karachi from Monday (tomorrow), besides expediting work on the federal developmental projects in other parts of the province.
The meeting reviewed the developmental issues of Karachi and rest of the province on Saturday was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Education and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani, Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, Federal IT Minister Aminul Haq, and chairman of Sindh Planning and Development Board. The Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority Lt General Muhammad Afzal and Federal Secretary Planning and Development attended the session via video-link from Islamabad.
The meeting discussed the issues related to the ongoing work to desilt the stormwater drains of Karachi. It resolved to remove encroachments from the stormwater drains of the city. The Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah told the meeting that the operation to remove encroachments from the drains, which didn’t house any people, would start from coming Monday (tomorrow). Whereas in the case of the residential encroachments, those living there would be first provided with alternate accommodation, before launching the anti-encroachment operation.
The Sindh ministers also raised the issue of the slow pace of work to construct the Jamshoro- Sehwan section of the Indus Highway despite payment of Rs seven billion by the provincial government as its share to develop the highway. It also decided to expedite the pace of work on the under-construction portion of Indus Highway. Nasir Shah informed the meeting about the lining of the KB Feeder Canal in District Thatta, which would save precious water from being lost.
Meanwhile, Federal Ministers Asad Umar and Ali Zaidi also met a delegation of PTI MNA, MPAs elected from Karachi, and briefed them about the committee meeting. The delegation comprised Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Parliamentary Leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, Khurram Sherzaman, Aftab Siddiqui, Jamal Siddiqui, Sidra Imran and others.
Asad Umar said that the committee’s goal is to work for Karachi and its citizens. Karachi is facing many problems and the federal government is taking serious steps to resolve them,” he said. The projects finalised in the Federal-Sindh government Coordination Committee were also discussed in the meeting. Umar said that the committee would work on six main sectors of transport, water, sewerage, solid waste, storm drains, road construction on a priority basis.
The federal and provincial secretaries of the Planning and Development department will supervise those projects, he said. Everyone will work together for the development of Karachi because the development of Pakistan is critically linked to the development of the city, Umar said.
The Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi said virtually every issue of Karachi was politicised and “no one ever seriously addressed the problems due to which the country's economic hub is mired in problems. Prime Minister Imran Khan is paying special attention to Karachi and we are trying to solve the problems of the city in accordance with his directives. The citizens of Karachi have given their mandate to PTI which is the stakeholder of the city.” He said the Sindh government has done nothing besides making claims and promises. Had they paid attention to the city generating over 70 percent revenue, the situation would have been entirely different today, he said.