Wahab calls for audit of Centre’s cleanliness drive

Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Environment and Law Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Thursday called on the relevant agencies to investigate how and in what manner the money raised through donations for the federal government-backed cleanliness drive in Karachi was spent.

During his visit to a vacant ground owned by the Karachi Port Trust near Mai Kolachi Road, Wahab said the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency should carry out an investigation into expenditure of funds collected for the cleanliness campaign.

He directed the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board to immediately lift garbage dumped on the ground and properly dispose it of at a designated landfill site. He alleged that the garbage was dumped on the ground after it was fished out from Nehr-e-Khayyam by some teams working for the Centre-backed cleanliness drive.

He said the campaign initiated by Federal Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi made the city filthier as trash collected from the drains was not properly disposed of and left on roadsides and empty spaces instead.

He said only 12,000 tons of garbage were disposed of at the designated landfill sites under the federal government-backed cleanliness drive; whereas, 135,000 tons of trash was left unattended on roadsides, which tarnished the city’s beauty.