For KCR, Centre needs to give Sindh right of way in 15 days, says Murad

Sindh’s chief minister has said that his provincial government is prepared to launch the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), for which the Pakistan Railways needs to give them the right of way within the next 15 days.

Syed Murad Ali Shah said this on Wednesday during a meeting at the CM House. He said that his government is committed to launching the KCR, for which he held meetings in China and Islamabad and got the project approved in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s Joint Coordination Committee meeting.

Now the federal government needs to approve the project, as its feasibility study has already been completed, and the Centre has to give its sovereign guarantee for the purpose, he added.

Shah directed the transport department to write to the railway authorities with the request to remove encroachments from the right of way and transfer it to the provincial government so that international tenders can be invited to start the project.

The meeting decided that a notice can be issued to the illegal allottees of the Kidney Hill and Hill Park areas for appearing before the Supreme Court.

Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani informed the chief executive that the hockey ground of the YMCA has been restored and now hockey is being played there. The CM directed the commissioner to remove encroachments from the footpaths around the Metropole Hotel.

Shallwani said he has cleared some portions of the footpaths, adding that the portion of the Village Restaurant at the corner of the Metropole Hotel will be cleared within the next 24 hours.

He also told Shah that the Aladin Park office area has been sealed and a report will be sent to the SC. The CM directed the commissioner to monitor the sweeping and cleanliness work of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Authority in the South, East, Malir and West districts.

Shah said that cleanliness of the city is his top priority. “We have outsourced the sweeping work, so it must be monitored,” he said. He directed Karachi Water & Sewerage Board Managing Director Asadullah Khan to ensure proper water supply across the city during Ramazan.

The meeting was also attended by Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, CM’s information adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, CM’s Principal Secretary Sajid Jamal Abro, Home Secretary Kazi Kabir, LG Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah, the director generals of the Karachi Development Authority and the Sindh Building Control Authority, and representatives of the transport department.