‘Centre to support KMC for development of Karachi’

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has said the federal government will extend maximum support to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) for the resolution of the civic issues of the city.

The governor stated this on Thursday while chairing a meeting to review the under-construction development projects in the city being carried out with the financial support of the federal government.

The meeting was attended by Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, KMC Metropolitan Commissioner Syed Saifur Rahman and officials of the Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL).

The meeting was held immediately a day after Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while speaking at a press conference, severely criticised the move of the federal government to establish a company, SIDCL, to carry out numerous development projects in the province at the cost of depriving the provincial government of its due fiscal resources from the federal divisible pool.

Shah had said that the federal government, irrespective of its prerogative, was getting involved in small development projects in Karachi, which otherwise should have been dealt with by its local government agencies. He had also made a point that as the federal government had been launching development projects in the province without consulting the Sindh government, this could lead to duplication of efforts of both the federal and provincial governments.

While chairing the meeting on Thursday at the Governor House, Ismail said Prime Minister Imran Khan had been acting to implement his vision to develop every part of the province on a uniform basis.

He added that the ongoing development schemes should be completed in a timely fashion. He directed the officials concerned that alternative routes should be constructed for hindrance-free movement of vehicular traffic before starting work on any development project.

The meeting reviewed in detail development schemes being built in the city with federal funding, including the procurement of fire tenders for the KMC.

Tiger Force

Chairing another meeting at the Governor House on Thursday, the governor said the volunteers, who had enlisted their services in the province for the PM’s Tiger Force, would also be hired to ensure social distancing among worshippers at the mosques and shoppers in the markets.

Ismail said the Tiger Force would be deputed at the Utility Stores, Ehsaas cash dispensation facilities, and plantations under 10 billion tree tsunami project of the federal government.