PA passes bill to establish Sindh Mass Transit Authority

CM says Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar to be given facilities admissible
under law; defends closure of some roads during nighttime for security reasons 

The Sindh Assembly passed a bill on Thursday paving the way for establishing the Sindh Mass Transit Authority, which would draw up plans to set up public transport systems in major cities of the province to facilitate commuters.

Transport Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah presented to the house a report of the assembly’s Standing Committee on Transport and Mass Transit on its review of the bill moved by the government in 2014 for establishing the Sindh Mass Transit Authority. 

According to the draft of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority Bill 2016, the authority will own, control, plan, maintain, develop, coordinate, implement and regulate mass transit systems and formulate policies in this regard. 

The bill defines mass transit as all types of mass transit, including but not limited to rail and road-based mass transit facilities, circular railway, bus rapid transit, light rail transit, mass rapid transit system, mono rail, feeder services and any other modes notified by the government from time to time to be mass transit.

The authority will also conduct studies, surveys, experiments and technical research with respect to mass transit systems. It will also plan and implement various transport routes, structures and alignments useful in construction and reconstruction, repair, maintenance and operation of mass transit systems.

It will devise and implement the policies aimed at ensuring that vehicles used for schemes and projects for Mass Transit systems meet the safety and quality standards.

The authority will seek assistance from the government or any agencies within or outside the province for the preparation and execution of any plan, programme or project connected with mass transit systems. 

The general directions and administration of the authority and its affairs will be vested in a board, which will exercise all powers, perform all functions and do all acts and things which may be exercised, performed or done by the mass transit authority.

The transport minister will be the chairperson of the board while mayors/administrators of metropolitan corporations will b its co-chairperson. 

The secretary of the transport and mass transit department will be the vice-chairperson of the board. Its other members include the secretary of planning and development or his nominee not below the rank of additional secretary, the director general of the Public Private Partnership Unit, the DIG (Traffic) Sindh, the director military lands and cantonments, and a representative of the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners.

Speaking on the bill, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the standing committee of the provincial assembly had presented its report on the proposed law after much delay as several tasks had not been completed due to the delay in the establishment of the provincial mass transit authority.

He, however, said that the standing committee had done a good job as the new law would be helpful in resolving transport issues persisting in the province. He said everyone was under obligation to observe the relevant laws for improving transport systems as ministers should also get registered vehicles used by them. 

Shah said he had himself set the example by removing the plate from his official vehicle containing the monogram of the CM House and instead installed the plate containing the registration number of the vehicle. He said that he had also had flags removed from his vehicles.

Mai Kolachi Road 

The chief minister informed the house that Mai Kolachi Road in front of the Consulate General of the United States had to be closed during nighttime owing to security reasons. Likewise, roads on other places are closed as “our country is going through the curse of terrorism”.

“We will make sure that traffic police and signboards are placed at such spots where roads are closed,” he said.

The chief minister was responding to a call-attention notice made by opposition lawmaker Khurrum Sher Zaman belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

He said that it was not just portion of Mai Kolachi Road in front of the US Consulate General getting closed but similar measures were adopted at a number of other places. “We don’t want to cause harm to the lives of Pakistani people. Our country is going through the curse of terrorism as similar steps are taken at a number of other spots.”

One side of Mai Kolachi Road was closed after midnight, while owing to security reasons containers were placed outside several five-star hotels, said the CM. “In this area, not just Americans but also Pakistanis do live. In case Americans are targeted, then Pakistanis could also be targeted,” he said.

“We want to protect every citizen. We will try that no life of any Pakistani should be lost in the cause of protecting lives of foreigners. We will try that citizens should not face hardship,” he said.

“Hardship is created when Sharea Faisal is closed, sit-ins are staged there without any cause and security threats are created.”

“God willing, the time will soon come when we will get rid of terrorists. I want to see not a single display of gun on roads,” said the CM.

In his call-attention notice, the PTI lawmaker said that a pedestrian, Muhammad Imran, who was also an activist of the PPP, was killed in a road accident due to the closure of one side of Mai Kolachi Road during night hours.

He said that the footpath had also been closed for use by pedestrians due to the presence of the American Consulate there as a 12-foot high wall had raised there.

Facilities for mayor 

The chief minister said that Waseem Akhtar was the elected mayor of Karachi and he would be given due facilities as admissible in the law.

He was giving a statement on a point of order raised by Leader of Opposition Khawaja Izharul Hassan of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan. The point of order was raised to agitate the issue that the elected mayor of the city was denied the opportunity to preside over proceedings of the maiden session of the City Council the previous day.

The opposition leader said that the mayor who was “Baba-e-Karachi” should have been given the due opportunity to attend and preside over first session of the City Council much like jailed lawmakers who attended sessions of the national and provincial assemblies and the Senate.

He said that all cases lodged against Akhtar were false while he was also entitled to getting bail as per the law.

The CM said that he would look into the issue and do whatever he could do in accordance with the law.

Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro said hospitals run by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation were in a very bad shape as other options could be considered for the management of those hospitals if the KMC was unable to run them.

Responding to a call-attention notice raised by MQM lawmaker Saifuddin Khalid, Shoro said overstaffing had been done in the KMC-run hospitals as large chunks of the budgets allocated for them were spent on the payment of salaries. A grant of Rs170 million was provided by the government on the CM’s orders for meeting the requirements of medicines at the hospitals, he added.

To another call-attention notice raised by PTI lawmaker Dr Seema Zia, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said the government would duly implement the law to ban the manufacturing and use of polythene bags as they had adverse effects on the environment.