Senate body for expediting K-IV, other PSDP projects to ease Karachi’s water woes

The Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives on Monday directed the official concerned to expedite work on all the projects of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) related to the provision of drinking water to Karachi and maintain close coordination among the relevant departments so that the basic issues of the citizens of the provincial capital could be resolved as soon as possible.

The Senate committee also recommended speeding up the disbursement of funds for reconstruction of flood-affected houses in Sindh and handing over administrative control of the Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) to the provincial government for ensuring execution of the relevant projects.

The Senate body made the recommendation during its meeting that was held on Monday with Chairperson Quratulain Marri in the chair to review the status of disbursement of funds for the 2024-25 PSDP for Sindh and progress made in the projects so far. The meeting was attended by Senators Zeeshan Khanzada and Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Planning Secretary Awais Manzur Sumra, Member Infrastructure and RC Waqas Anwar, Sindh Planning and Development Board Chairman Najam Ahmed Shah, Sindh Finance Secretary Fayaz Ahmed Jatoi and others.

The committee chairperson emphasised that potable water was a basic need and its shortage was a major issue in Karachi, due to which the federal and provincial governments needed to sit together to find out the solution to this issue and remove hurdles in the completion of the K-IV bulk water supply and other allied projects.

Shah briefed the meeting about the Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Projects (KWSSIP), K-IV augmentation works, and Kalri Baghar (KB) Feeder Improvement Projects, which were designed to improve the overall water supply situation in the metropolis.

Wahab spoke about the urgency of completing the K-IV water project to address Karachi’s water shortage and stated that water was one of the basic issues of the city and it needed to be resolved in the minimum possible time. The chief executive officer of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation pointed out that the water requirements of Karachi were multiplying each year due to the increasing population, and the shortage of water was creating various issues and public outrage.

Senator Marri emphasised the importance of sustaining momentum on these projects to uplift Sindh’s infrastructure and directed the relevant officers to work in cohesion and hold regular meetings to expedite the work by removing the bottlenecks. “The timely release of funds and concerted focus on crucial projects, such as the K-IV water initiative and flood housing reconstruction, are essential to ensure the well-being of the people of Sindh,” she stated and reiterated her commitment to work closely with all relevant bodies for bringing these projects to fruition.

The meeting was informed that the Sindh government had released over Rs20 billion so far under the project for reconstruction of damaged houses in flood-affected areas, while the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had granted approval for the transfer of Rs4.5 billion to the finance division for the project. The decision would be tabled before the cabinet for ratification.

The committee reviewed progress in various projects in Sindh, including the construction of the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway, additional carriageway along Mehran Highway from Nawabshah to Ranipur, improvement of roads from Rohri to Guddu Barrage, Karachi and Hyderabad Urban Development Projects, dualisation of the road between Tando Allahyar and Tando Adam.

The Senate body was briefed that the total allocation for PSDP 2024-25 projects located in Sindh was Rs171.461 billion and Rs8.417 billion had been released or sanctioned during July-September.