Murad urges Railway Ministry to transfer ROW to Sindh govt for launching KCR

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial government was ready to launch Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) for which Pakistan Railways had to hand over Right of Way (ROW) to Sindh government within next 15 days.

This he said on Wednesday while presiding over a meeting here at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Minister Local Government Saeed Ghani, Advisor to CM Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Home Secretary Kazi Kabir, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahlwani, Secretary Local Government Khalid Hyder Shah, MD Water Board Asadullah, DG KDA, DG SBCA and representatives of Transport department.

The chief minister said that it was committed to launch KCR project for which he had been holding meetings in China and Islamabad and got it approved in the CPEC-related JCC meeting. Now, the federal government has to approve the project as its feasibility study has already been done and it has to give its sovereign guarantee.

Murad Ali Shah directed the Transport Department to write a letter to the railway authorities with the request to remove encroachment from the ROW and transfer the same to the provincial government so that international tenders could be invited to start the project.

The meeting decided that notice may be issued to the illegal allottees of Kidney Hill and Hill park areas for appearing before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Karachi.

Commissioner Karachi told the chief minister that hockey ground of YMC has been restored and now hockey was being played there.

The chief minister directed Commissioner Karachi to remove encroachment from the footpaths contracted around the Metropole Hotel. The commissioner said that he has cleared some portions of the footpaths and the portion of Village Restaurant at the corner of the Metropole Hotel would be cleared within next 24 hours.

The commissioner also told the chief minister that the Alladin Park office area has been sealed and report would be sent to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The chief minister directed Commissioner Karachi to monitor sweeping and cleanliness work of the Solid Waste Management Authority (SSWMA) in Districts - South, East, Malir and West. The cleanliness of the city was his top priority. “We have outsourced sweeping work, therefore it must be monitored,” he said.

The chief minister directed MD Water Board Asadullah Khan to ensure proper water supply in the city during Ramazan.