Sindh govt to turn Chuhar Jamali Town into rural growth centre

Senior economist Kaiser Bengali has said the Sindh government will develop Chuhar Jamali Town in the Thatta district as a rural growth centre (RGC) within a radius of 15 to 30 kilometres under the Poverty Reduction Strategy of the provincial administration.

Bengali, who is serving as strategic adviser, EU’s Sindh Union Council Community and Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) Technical Assistance Team, said this in his presentation on pilot implementation in Chuhar Jamali under the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) at a seminar organised by the Sindh Directorate of Urban & Regional Policy in collaboration with the European Union’s team.

A former adviser to the Sindh and Balochistan chief ministers, Bengali said the Sindh government had extended full cooperation to the poverty reduction strategy project team. “The PRS includes implementation of the town-to-market infrastructure, improvement in the quality of education, healthcare, water supply and drainage. This would be supplemented by the construction of quality roads to facilitate access to the RGC,” he said.

He said the government had selected the small town Chuhar Jamali as a pilot project to implement the PRS. The consolidation of infrastructure and services around Chuhar Jamali Town would result in poverty alleviation and improvement of living standard of the people, Bengali said. “The pilot project has full support from the provincial cabinet. Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had himself selected Chuhar Jamali for the pilot project.”

The project team has identified at least four RGC sites in the Thatta district which would be developed. Garho is identified for education, Ghorabari for health, Ver for the economic centre, and Jhimpir (Keenjhar Lake) and Keti Bunder (coastal area) as tourist sites, he said.

A village development plan has been formulated targeting larger settlements within a 30-kilometre radius of the RGC (that is Chuhar Jamali). The development plan covers housing, walkways, drains, drinking water and a kitchen garden. Similarly, three economic growth sites have been identified in the Tharparkar district in Islamkot, Mithi, and Diplo areas.

Kathryn Ennis-Carter, team leader of the EU SUCCESS Technical Assistance Team, said the Sindh government had approved PC-1 of the pilot project and funds had been allocated.