12,000 flats planned for those displaced from storm water drains

A meeting of Provincial Coordination & Implementation Committee (PCIC) was held here on Monday under the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in which schemes of water supply, sewerage treatment & disposal, solid waste management, storm water drains, improvement of internal roads and Mass transit system were discussed. The meeting was attended by Corps Commander Karachi Lt. General Hamayun Aziz, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Major General Aqil, Chairman P&D Mohammad Waseem, PSCM Sajid Jamal Abro, Administrator Iftikhar Shallwani, Commissioner Sohail Rajput, Secretary Transport Sharik and Secretary Local Government Najam Shah and other concerned officials. The Secretary Planning and Secretary Railways participated in the meeting through a video link from Islamabad. Chairman P&D Mohammad Waseem gave a detailed presentation on the projects in progress or to be launched and completed under the Karachi package. The Commissioner said that he has completed a physical survey of the project. The NED university has been engaged for GIS survey and mapping. The meeting was told that the project would be completed by 60 percent by July 2021 and the remaining 40 percent by July 2022. The settlement of the people living there would cost Rs4 billion. The meeting discussed different options to compensate the affected people. The federal government has a plan to construct 12,000 flats for Rs36 billion to accommodate the settlers there. Roads or expressways astride Gujjar, Mehmoodabad, Orangi Nullahs and remaining portion of Lyari Expressway would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs130 billion by July 22 on PPP mode. Under world bank assisted project SWEEEP `cleaning of waste from Nullahs temporary storage and de-water facilities’ for Rs1.7 billion would be launched. The scheme has been cleared from PDWP and is being considered in CDWP. 10 schemes of storm water drains and nullahs have been launched by the Sindh government for Rs3 billion against which Rs1.6 billion have been utilized so far and this year Rs6 million have been allocated. The chief minister said that six schemes were fully funded and would be completed by the end of financial year and the remaining schemes would be completed next year. KCR: Karachi Circular Railways is a Rs300 billion project in which Rs250 billion is a Chinese loan. The chief minister said that the federal government to issue sovereign guarantee, approached the Chinese government for concessional financing. The Minister of Railways should clear the Right of Way (ROW). Shah said that construction of boundary/fencing along KCR alignment, a scheme of Rs26 million has been launched. He directed secretary transport to expedite fencing work. Construction of underpasses/flyovers on railway crossings along the KCR route for Rs5 billion. The meeting was told that the transport department was coordinating with FWO on the project.