Murad calls for support of all institutions for city’s clean-up

Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday that the process of lifting garbage and cleaning the city had started but all the institutions needed to extend their support for the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) so that they could do their best.

The chief minister said this during a high-level meeting of the SSWMB at the CM House, where Local Government Minister Jam Khan said the total waste generation of the city was about 12,000 tonnes a day, of which 9,000 tonnes was generated in the municipal areas.

The remaining 3,000 tonnes of waste is generated in areas of other civic administrative bodies, such as six cantonment boards, SITE, KPT, Pakistan Railways, CAA, etc, he added. He said the SSWMB had three basic components: frontend collection, middle-end garbage transfer stations (GTSs) and backend solid waste management services such as landfill sites (LFSs).

Currently, transportation cost regarding solid waste management services is very high because the LFSs are at a distance of over 35km from the city centre, and the distance is over 50km from many areas of the city, he added.

The meeting was told that two LFSs of 500 acres each, Jam Chakro and Gond Pass, are available for disposal of the solid waste being generated across the city, but both sites are simply dumping grounds and far from international standards of sanitary LFSs.

The chief executive was told that the actual work of a GTS in Sector 12B, Korangi Industrial Area, Sharafi Goth could not be undertaken due to heaps of more than 400,000 tonnes of garbage at the site accumulated during the past three decades.

When the CM was told that the army asked them to stop building a boundary wall around the GTS in Sector 52, Korangi Town because the army claimed that the land belonged to them, Murad directed the chief secretary to the check record of rights to ascertain the actual ownership of the land.

The CM also directed the CS to resolve the matter of the GTS in Sector 26, Korangi Industrial Area, where the Landhi assistant commissioner and Korangi DMC had established some offices and were unwilling to vacate them.

Murad expressed displeasure when he was informed that the land for a GTS in Deh Okewari, East was encroached upon. He asked what the police and district administration were doing. “I will not spare any official if they are found to be negligent in removing encroachments.”

The CM also expressed displeasure when he was informed that the land for a GTS in Deh Gujhro (near Jannat Gul Hospital, Sohrab Goth), District East was occupied by land grabbers. He said he wanted the land cleared within 48 hours. “How are the land grabbers able to operate under the very noses of the police and the administration?”

Murad was again given a cause for being annoyed when he was informed that the lands for GTSs in Deh Gangiaro, Bin Qasim, Malir and Mewashah were occupied by land grabbers.

He said: “This is not a tribal area where people have developed their states within the state.” He directed the Karachi police chief to launch a crackdown on land grabbers and bring them to book. “This must be done within 48 hours.”

By the time the chief executive was informed of some locals thwarting the construction of a GTS at Dhobi Ghat in District South, he seemed resigned and said in displeasure that he was not surprised at this development.

But Murad found some relief when he was informed that the GTS in Qasba Colony, DMC West was expected to start working within the next 60 days. He exclaimed: “Thank God at least one of your sites is clear to start its operation.”

For the GTS in Baldia Town, DMC West, the CM directed the West DC to clear it of encroachments and report to him. As for the proposed GTS at Hawkesbay in District West, Murad directed the Board of Revenue to allocate the land to the SSWMB.

On the request of the SSWMB, the chief executive also directed the chief secretary to provide the land for the establishment of two GTSs for District Central as well as two more for District Korangi.

The CM was told that the SSWMB had plans to reserve 200 acres for a hospital waste disposal site, including an incinerator, and 300 more acres for and industrial solid waste disposal site. Meanwhile, Murad directed the commissioner and the city police chief to launch a crackdown on land grabbers and report to him. He also directed the KDA chief to submit a detailed report on the acres vacated from land grabbers.

The meeting was also attended by Information Minister Syed Nasir Shah, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, the Karachi commissioner, the local government secretary, SSWMB chief AD Sajnani, divisional commissioners and other relevant officers.