‘Malir River bed to be used for residential, industrial schemes’

Karachi
The Sindh Assembly was informed on Monday that the provincial government had identified 213 acres on the Malir River bed near DHA that could be used for residential or industrial purposes without hindering the flow of water.
Parliamentary affairs and environment minister Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro was responding to a call-attention notice raised by Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbasi on the issue of the irrigation department awarding the contract for reclaiming the Malir River land to a defaulting company and that too without conducting an environment impact assessment of the project.
She said land used as natural storm-water drains should not be used for residential or commercial purposes as it could threaten the nearby population in case of heavy flooding during rains.
The minister said the contract had been awarded to a company with an excellent reputation at a cost of Rs2.689 billion after conducting a proper tender process.
The provincial minister said a three-year study had indicated that 213 acres of the Malir River bed could easily be used without obstructing the natural flow of the storm-water drain.
He said the National Engineering Services Pakistan, (Nespak), the Irrigation Research Institute Nandipur and the National Institute of Oceanography had conducted the study.
He added that the study had been conducted using hydrological data of the Malir River based on several years.
The minister said the work on the project would be started after conducting an environment impact assessment.

Cleanliness drive
Information and local government minister Sharjeel Inam Memon asked all the political parties in the House to assist the government in making its campaign “Clean, green, and peaceful Sindh” successful.
Memon said the cleanliness campaign, which started on Monday, would not be confined to just one week but last longer in all cities and towns of the province.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement deputy parliamentary leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan told the House that the party’s lawmakers, representatives and office-bearers had completed their arrangements to participate in the campaign.

Hepatitis vaccines
Health minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar urged the lawmakers to appeal to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to give an early judgement in the case of the government’s procurement of hepatitis vaccines.
The minister said hepatitis vaccines being procured from local pharmaceutical companies were proving to be ineffective in countering the disease. He added that the government had formed a committee comprising senior health and medical experts that had recommended purchasing the vaccines from international companies that were slightly expensive but much more effective.
The minister said local drug companies had moved the high court against the government’s procurement decision and obtained a stay order in their favour.
Dahar was responding to a point of order raised by MQM MPA Heer Ismail Soho who had complained in the House about the shortage of hepatitis vaccines in the province.

Public transport vehicles
Speaker Agha Siraj Khan Durrani suggested that the use of CNG cylinders in public transport vehicles should be banned because of frequent accidents.
The speaker gave his suggestion after MQM’s Saifuddin Khalid raised a point of order about an explosion in a passenger van near Nooriabad on the Super Highway on Sunday night.

Local govt bill deferred
After consultation with the parliamentary leaders of opposition parties, parliamentary affairs minister Dr Mandhro sought the chair’s permission to defer consideration on the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2015 till Tuesday (today).
Earlier, Mandhro informed the House that the bill had been introduced in the assembly in light of the recommendations and directives of the Supreme Court to amend the original 2013 local government law so that the Election Commission of Pakistan could hold the polls in the province at the earliest.
MQM parliamentary leader Syed Sardar Ahmed and Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan sought time from the chair so that the party’s lawmakers could suggest amendments in the new law.
Later, the parliamentary affairs minister also introduced the Sindh Insurance of Public Property Bill, 2015 under a supplementary agenda for the day’s sitting as its draft would be considered by the lawmakers on Tuesday.