The Sindh Local Government Minister, Saeed Ghani, has said the Sindh government has been spending a total of Rs 333 billion to execute a total of 557 uplift schemes for Karachi. The Sindh Local Government Minister disclosed this on Friday while taking part in the pre-budget discussion in the Sindh Assembly. The Local Government told the concerned lawmakers that the Sindh government had been spending a total amount of Rs 436 billion on 1149 development schemes in the entire province.
He recalled that the Sindh government’s budget for the financial year 2024-25 didn’t 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, as these included over 175 development works in Karachi.
He said the forthcoming provincial budget for the new financial year would include new development projects to be launched in the province, while major uplift initiatives would also be initiated under the Karachi mega project.
He assured the concerned legislators that 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 vehicular traffic.
The Local Government Minister said it was utterly baseless and incorrect to promote the notion 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 wouldn’t have allocated Rs 333 billion out of a total of Rs 436 billion in development funds for executing 557 development projects in Karachi, said Ghani. He told the house that the Sindh government in the current financial year had allocated Rs 102 billion 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 would complete 136 development works in Karachi with an expenditure of Rs 35.6 billion by the end of the current financial year. He said the Sindh government in the current financial year had allocated Rs 10.7 billion for ongoing development works of KDA, as Rs 7.5 billion had already been released out of this allocation. The Local Government Minister told the lawmakers that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had been undertaking 266 development schemes with a total cost of Rs 23 billion. He said that Rs 11.2 billion had been allocated in the current financial year for the KMC’s development works, as a significant sum out of this allocation had already been released.
He informed the house that Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation had been undertaking different development works with a total cost of Rs 51 billion, as Rs 7.1 billion had already been released for the purpose. He said the Karachi Water & Sewerage Improvement Project was a major uplift scheme for Karachi with a cost of Rs 175 billion, as Rs 21 billion is the current year’s allocation for the project.
He said that Rs 70 billion to Rs 89 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 Local Government Minister said the Lyari Development Authority had been executing 54 development works with a total cost of Rs 6.6 billion. He told the house that the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Housing Scheme was being completed with a cost of Rs 9.4 billion. Ghani said that Rs 10.7 billion had been allocated in the current financial year for Karachi mega projects. The Sindh government has allocated Rs 5.3 billion for the affected families of the Gujjar drain restoration project, while Rs 23.5 billion would be spent in Karachi under the CLICK project.
He disclosed that four garbage transfer stations would be built in Karachi under the SWEEP project. He said that this significant uplift scheme would likely be completed in the current year as its launch 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 change the defective valves to improve water supply to Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Bahadurabad, Dalmia, Mujahid Nagar, and several other affected localities in Karachi. He said that water supply to several localities in Karachi had improved after completion of these works. He conceded that Karachi had been facing a 50 percent shortage of water supply as water couldn’t be adequately supplied to all areas of the city. He said that 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 pumping stations to reduce their energy costs. He said the completion of the K-IV project would significantly help bridge water supply and demand needs in the city. He said the next financial year’s Annual Development Programme would include uplift works to improve water supply to various affected areas in Karachi.