KARACHI: The Water Commission has expressed anger after visiting sites of the Treatment Plants I and III (TP-I and TP III). A Water Commission team headed by its chairman, Justice (retd) Amir Hani Muslim, on visiting both sites of Haroonabad TP-I and Mauripur TP-III found that no construction had been undertaken at the sites. The contractors had not even cleared the sites of vegetation or removed dilapidated machinery. Showing his displeasure, Justice (retd) Muslim said that these components of the project would not be completed in the next four to five years if work continued on such lethargic pace. Ghulam Mustafa Channa, the registrar of the Judicial Commission, later issued a notice to Omar Jillani, the contractor and owner of Pak Oasis Industries Private Limited, to appear before the court and explain his failure to fulfill the commitment pertaining to the start of the job. Noor Ahmad Soomro, the project director for the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan (S-III) of which TP-I and III are project components, informed the chief of the Water Commission on the site that the contractor, despite repeated written calls, has not yet responded. No action was taken against the contractor, not even a show-cause notice was issued to him on his failure, Soomro informed the Water Commission. He told the visiting team that the contractor had also changed four cut off dates on the matter and was still demanding funds for import of required machinery, even though he had yet to start ground work at the site where machinery was to be set up. The equipment and machineries had to be removed from sites after it was dismantled by the contractor. The contractor had already given a written undertaking to the Water Commission in February 2018 that he would complete the job on both sites by June 2018 on TP-III and on TP-I by December 2018. While work on TP-II would be completed by March 2019, according to contractor’s undertaking. In addition, Chief Secretary, Rizwan Memon and Muhammad Waseem from the Planning and Development Department had also given undertaking to the Water Commission on behalf of the contractor that the government was ready to finance these treatment plants. The officials of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board informed that contractor was awarded both components of S-III project in October 23, 2014 for rehabilitation and construction of new plants. Published in Daily Times, March 11th 2018.