Payment of compensation emerges as a new hiccup in KCR completion

KARACHI: The issue of the vacation of 4,653 houses located in the project area of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), relocation of affected people and payment of compensation to them has become a major hurdle in the timely completion of the project.

Recently the federal government has approved the second revised feasibility study of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) a primary mass transit project of the metropolitan worth $2.027 billion. The project has to be completed in 36 months. The 43.13 km long circular railway project will provide convenient and affordable travel facilities to approximately 650,000 people on daily basis. Federal Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Pakistan Railway has emphasized to the Government of Sindh that it is their responsibility to remove these encroachments from the area.

But, according to sources of the Sindh government, it is facing a severe financial crunch and is unable to generate Rs20bn as compensation for those to be evicted or provide them with alternate land and houses. This has emerged as a new hurdle which may delay the project, the sources fear.

Earlier in 2017 a survey was conducted followed by a feasibility study that required the provincial government to clear 4,653 encroachments falling in the route of the proposed circular railway. The survey identified 993 houses from Wazir Mansion to Baldia, 440 houses from Baldia to Liaquatabad, 478 from Liaquatabad to University Road, 1,748 houses from University Road to Chinesar Halt, 305 houses from Chinesar Halt to Karachi Cantt, 343 houses from Cantt Station to City Station and 347 houses from City Station to Wazir Mansion which needed to be removed. The survey report warned that without their removal the new track cannot be built and subsequently the train will not be able to run.