Daily Times

KARACHI: The promise for lifting of garbage backlog in six districts of Karachi immediately after Eid-ul-Adha holidays under joint-venture between Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and Bahria Town Group has been failed.

The officials of civic entity informed that even initial stage preparation on assignment under announced budget of Rs 1 billion has so far been in cold storage.

Due to non-coordination between two entities besides pre occupied matters of Bahria Group has been remained bottleneck in kick-start of the project.

Bahria is facing National Accountability in land corruption cases while allegation on Mayor Waseem Akhtar by Muttahida Quami Movement Pakistan for not discharging his official obligations has affected the workability of Mayor, KMC officials were of the view.

District Central from where the job of lifting of garage from backlog site 1668 was supposed to start soon after Eid but conflict cropped up between house-officers and Chairman District Central on the matter in question.

Four committees comprising members of both parties had to monitor round the clock lifting of garbage in two shifts.

A central coordination control room has also not been set up in Complaint Information System KMC office (1339) while supervising members task monitoring teams on six district level has yet to decide, officials revealed.

The decision on setting up a Disposal Facilitation Committee comprising members of Bahria Town, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and representatives of DMCs to supervise landfill sites and disposal activities of garbage was still in air, officials added.

In addition review committees have also been not formed looking after the progress on the project in question.

Bahria Group itself has failed in setting up a control room at its site for keeping close liaison with active members on the job.

Around 1,668 sites in city with more than 1.4 million tonnes of garbage have been marked where lifting of garbage had been planned.

All Union Council chairmen remained indecisive in identifying and assuring waste scattered in streets and roads for dumping on the identified garbage dumped locations.

Under the accord, lifting of heaps and transfer it to landfill sites, fumigation on cleaned place, sprinkling of slacked lime and repairing and colouring of footpaths, patch repairing and streetlight maintenance was taken into account.

Bahria Group is bound to provide all machinery and manpower in this connection.

Published in Daily Times, September 20^th 2017.