Daily Times

KARACHI: Despite completing all required legal formalities by owners/allottees of acquired land for building K-4 Project, Assistant Commissioner (AC) District Malir has deposited Rs 2.5 billion as fixed deposit in a commercial bank instead making payment to them, officials of Malir Administration have revealed.

Sindh government had paid Rs 2.5 to Karachi Water and Sewerage Board out of a total amount of Rs 5 billion for K-4 Project.

Water Board for the purpose gave this amount to AC, who did not make payment to owners and allottees of acquired land.

On-going work of laying down 34 inches diameters 3-parrallel water conduits under Karachi Bulk Water Supply (K-4) project was underway. Sindh Government Employees Cooperative Housing Society is also one of the beneficiaries of compensation as it has already handed over the land for project purpose.

Board of Revenue Sindh, Law Department, Local Government Department, Planning Department and Finance Department of Sindh government, following a complete scrutiny submitted a summary to Chief Secretary Sindh for onward approval by Chief Minister Sindh in connection to compensate private land owners of acquired land by government.

Private lands are located at Bin Qasim (10 acres), Deh Abdar (12.24 acres), Chohar (32 acres), Deh Amin-ollai (27 acres) Deh Kathore (62 acres), Deh Konkar (99.23 acres), Deh Northen (296 acres), Deh Shah Murid (253 acres) and Deh Allah Fai (229 acres).

There are estimated 630 private owners and they would be compensated according to respective size of assets. In this connection a notification has also been issued in September 2015.

Vide letter P.D/K-IV/KWSB/20171107, November 2, 2017 by Saleem Siddiqui, Project Director, K-4 Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to Ashaq Gaad, Assistant Commissioner and LAO, K-4 Project, District Malir, it has been requested to prioritise land acquisition for K-4 project.

In addition, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), the executor of water pipeline work has now mobilised on package-B of K-4 project that comprises construction of filter plants 1 in Deh Kotriro, 2 in Deh Narathar and 3 in Deh Allah Phahai respectively.

K-IV Bulk Water Supply Scheme would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 25.5 billion including Rs 15.5 billion of construction work, Rs 5 billion for land acquisition and Rs 6 billion have been allocated for purchase of heavy earth moving machinery and water siphons. Federal and Sindh government are sharing the project’s cost on 50-50 basis.

It would supply 650 million gallons of water daily to residents of Karachi. At present, Karachi faces a shortfall of around 732 mgd against a demand of 1,155 mgd.

The K-4 water conduit project would run on around 11,396 acres of government land, besides on 1,053 acres of private owners’ land.

The water scheme will run through 222 kilometers (kms) from Keenjhar Lake Thatta to Karachi including 99 kilometers under canal water system.

Around 600-meter area on both sides of water running conduits has been declared free from any sort of construction in order to provide protection to the water pipelines.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sindh High Court and Board of Revenue Sindh have already rejected false claims of many villages on paper for compensation.

The government of Sindh has provided 50 percent fund so far and in order to commence the works on the three filter plats and keeping in view the issuance of form-B by the survey superintendent.

The 1,000 feet wide K4 Right of Way corridor passing behind Deewan Cement Factory (DCF) has been jointly demarcated by senior official of Frontier Works Organisation, who visited DCF located near Pipri in Deh Dhando along with Project Director K4 Saleem Siddiqui and a team of officials of Project Management Unit.

The officials of DCF including Quarry Manager Abdul Hameed and Director Coordination Salim Siddiqui arranged the visit.

The 1,000 feet wide corridor of the K 4 including canal would pass through the south side of the ‘quarry’ of Factory, while the area under project passes just back side of the factory area.

A detailed visit of Deewan Cement Factory quarry area spanning over 25,000 acres was also visited by K-IV team.

Work on Change 65+000 to Change 70+000 has commenced in K4 Corridor and now is in the process of construction.

Work on K-IV project in the entire length of 124 kms right from the beginning at Kinjher to Karachi is going on and almost 286 land hauling equipment and machinery has been implied under the command of Commander FWO Brig Waseem Babar.

Presently Karachi is drawing 1,200 cusecs (650MGD) approved quota of water from Indus River which is not sufficient to meet the present demand of the 280 million population of the need the next 20 years.

The Sindh government has allocated 485 cusecs (260MGD) additional water quota on first phase of K-4.

The project K-4 officer said that Indus River is to only economically viable water sources for Karachi this includes development along Northern Bypass, Education City, Taiser Town, Shah Latif Town, Hawksbay scheme 33, DHA City along Super Highway, Bahria Town and other housing societies and private project in Karachi depending on this K-4 project.

The Sindh Chief Minister had performed the groundbreaking of first phase on August 14, 2016.

Published in Daily Times, December 13^th 2017.