Chairmen of Central, East DMCs complain of no funds for drive

Although the Sindh government has claimed that it has taken the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the District Municipal Corporations (DMCs) of the city on board for the new cleanliness drive in the city, the chairmen of some DMCs have complained that they have not been provided any money for the drive as the provincial government has provided funds to the deputy commissioners (DCs) instead.

Talking to The News, the chairmen of the DMC Central and DMC East said although the DMCs were responsible for the waste collection in their limits, they would largely play the part of silent spectator in the current cleanliness drive because only the DCs have been empowered to do all kinds of procurement for it.

DMC Central Chairman Rehan Hashmi was of the view that under the prevailing circumstances, it would be impossible for the DMC to successfully carry out the drive. He explained that he had attended a meeting on the campaign with Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, in which he presented his demands to the minister.

Hashmi claimed that Shah had promised to support the DMCs for the drive but the government provided funds to the DCs instead. He said the DMCs were in a dire need of funds to address the garbage issue.

We have not been provided any kind of machinery for cleanliness and we have a shortage of 750 sanitary workers, the DMC Central chairman lamented. Similarly, DMC East Chairman Moeed Anwar commented that the Sindh government did not provide a single penny to his DMC to lift garbage. He added that under the drive, the provincial government had provided funds to the DCs to clear the backlog of garbage.

The chairmen of the other two DMCs where the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan enjoys a majority – DMC West and DMC Korangi – were not available for comments.