‘Wrong to say Sindh govt doing nothing for Karachi’

The Sindh government has been spending a total of Rs333 billion to execute a total of 557 uplift schemes in Karachi. Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani disclosed this on Friday while taking part in the pre-budget discussion in the Sindh Assembly.

He told the concerned lawmakers that the provincial government had been spending a total amount of Rs436 billion on 1,149 development schemes in the entire province. He recalled that the Sindh government's budget for the financial year 2024-25 did not include any new development scheme as there was a focus on allocating maximum funds for the ongoing uplift works in the province. He told the House that efforts were on to complete a total of 361 development schemes all over the province in the current year, which included over 175 development works in Karachi.

Ghani maintained that the forthcoming provincial budget for the new financial year would include new development projects in the province, and major uplift initiatives would be initiated in Karachi mega.

He assured the legislators that the Shahrah-e-Bhutto (Malir) Expressway in Karachi and restoration work for the Hub Canal would be completed by the end of the current year. He said the completion of these two major development initiatives would extend significant relief to the residents of Karachi in terms of improved water supply and traffic flow.

The local government minister said it was utterly incorrect to state that the Sindh government had been doing nothing for Karachi's development, as such an assumption went against the facts.

Had the Sindh government not been focusing on the uplift of Karachi, it would not have allocated Rs333 billion out of a total of Rs 436 billion in development funds for executing 557 development projects in the provincial capital, he said. He told the House that the Sindh government had allocated Rs102 billion in the current financial year for carrying out various uplift works in Karachi.

Ghani assured the House that the Sindh government would complete several development schemes by the end of the current financial year. He informed the concerned legislators that the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) would complete 136 development works in Karachi with an expenditure of Rs35.6 billion by the end of the current financial year.

He explained that the Sindh government allocated Rs10.7 billion in the current financial year for ongoing development works of the KDA, of which Rs7.5 billion had already been released.

He informed the lawmakers that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had undertaken 266 development schemes with a total cost of Rs23 billion. He said that Rs 11.2 billion had been allocated in the current financial year for the KMC's development works and a significant sum out of this allocation had already been released.

He stated that the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) had initiated different development works with a total cost of Rs51 billion of which Rs7.1 billion had already been released.

Ghani said the Karachi Water & Sewerage Improvement Project was a major uplift scheme for Karachi with a total cost of Rs175 billion, and Rs21 billion was the current year's allocation for the project.

He said Rs70 billion to Rs89 billion would be spent on the augmentation works for the K-IV bulk water supply project, as this scheme would likely be completed by the next financial year.

The Lyari Development Authority had been working on 54 development works with a total cost of Rs6.6 billion, the local government minister said, adding that the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Housing Scheme was being completed with a cost of Rs9.4 billion.

He said Rs 10.7 billion had been allocated in the current financial year for Karachi’s mega projects. The Sindh government has allocated Rs 5.3 billion for the affected families of the Gujjar nullah restoration project, while Rs 23.5 billion would be spent in Karachi under the CLICK project, Ghani explained.

He disclosed that four garbage transfer stations would be built in Karachi under the SWEEP project. He said this significant uplift scheme would likely be completed in the current year and it would contribute significantly to improving the environmental conditions in the city.

He said the KWSC had been constantly working to lay new water supply lines and replace the defective valves to improve water supply to Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Bahadurabad, Dalmia, Mujahid Nagar and several other affected localities in Karachi.

He said water supply to several localities in Karachi had improved after completion of these works. He conceded that Karachi had been facing a 50 per cent shortage of water supply as water could not be adequately supplied to all areas of the city.

He said efforts were on to resolve the issues in this regard to ensure equitable distribution of the available quantity of water. He said the water pumping stations were also being upgraded along with the installation of solar panels by the energy department for operating them.

The local government minister said the Sindh government would try to install solar power systems at all the pumping stations to reduce their energy costs. He said the completion of the K-IV project would significantly help bridge water supply and demand in the city. He announced that the next financial year's Annual Development Programme would include uplift works to improve water supply to various affected areas in Karachi.