Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Wednesday that the provincial government was ready to launch the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project. However, the Pakistan Railways has to hand over the right of way (ROW) to Sindh government within the next 15 days, he said. He said this while presiding over a meeting at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Minister Local Government Saeed Ghani, Advisor to CM Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Home Secretary Kazi Kabir, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahlwani, Secretary Local Government Khalid Hyder Shah, MD Water Board Asadullah, KDA DG, SBCA DG and representatives of the Transport department. The chief minister said that the Sindh government was committed to launch KCR project for which he had been holding meetings in China and Islamabad. “We got it approved in the CPEC-related JCC meeting. Now, the federal government has to approve the project as its feasibility study has already been completed and it has to give its sovereign guarantee,” he said. Shah directed the Transport Department to write a letter to the Railways authorities with a request to remove encroachment from the ROW and transfer the rights to the provincial government so that international tenders could be invited to start the project. The meeting decided that notices should be issued to the people who had been illegally allotted land in Hill Park area for appearing before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The Karachi commissioner told the chief minister that the hockey ground of YMC had been restored. The chief minister directed the commissioner to remove encroachments from the footpaths contracted around the Metropole Hotel. The commissioner said that the administration had cleared some portions of the footbaths and the portion of Village Restaurant at the corner of the Metropole Hotel would be cleared within next 24 hours. The commissioner also told the chief minister that the Alladin Park Office area had been sealed and a report would be sent to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The chief minister directed the commissioner to monitor cleanliness work of the Solid Waste Management Authority (SSWMA) in South, East, Malir and West districts. “The cleanliness of the city is our top priority. We have outsourced cleanliness work. Therefore, it must be monitored,” he said. The chief minister directed Water Board MD Asadullah Khan to ensure proper water supply to the city during Ramazan.