01 October 2004	Friday	15 Shaban 1425

HYDERABAD, Sept 30: The Sindh government is yet to constitute a governing body of the Hyderabad Development Authority despite a decision it had taken two months ago to do so.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Hyderabad Development Package's steering committee, presided over by the Sindh governor in Karachi on Aug 2. Hyderabad District Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman pleaded at the meeting that under the new devolution of power plan, ex-officio positions of defunct commissioners and deputy commissioners had been conferred on district nazims of respective district governments.

Accordingly, the Hyderabad nazim became the chairperson of the governing body of the HDA, although no such body was in existence. He had told the meeting that the HDA had neither been devolved nor it had been working under the direct command and control of the Sindh government, causing unnecessary complications in smooth working of the organization.

On the suggestion of the nazim that till a final decision on the fate of the HAD, the authority should be controlled by the Sindh government, the governor had called for constituting a governing body of the HDA and had appointed the additional chief secretary of the local government to float a proposal in this regard.

Inquiries from different sources by this correspondent revealed that no initiative had been taken by the local bodies department regarding constitution of the HDA governing body.

Before the repeal of the HDA Act, 1976, affairs of the HDA and Wasa were looked after by a governing body headed by the commissioner. The deputy commissioner, director-general of the HDA, mayor/administrator of the defunct Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, chief engineer of the public health engineering department, and MPAs used to be its members whereas the HDA secretary was the body's secretary.