KARACHI, Dec 22: Sindh Minister for Planning and Development Shoaib Bokhari has criticized the city government for claiming credit of the development projects which, he said, had not been executed by it.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, the minister described the advertisement moved by the city government in print media in this regard as 'exaggeration'.
Referring to the advertisement, about the city government's achievements in its three-year tenure, he said it was an attempt to encroach upon the projects belonging to the federal and provincial governments.
Producing a list of projects along with a copy of the advertisement, the minister pointed out that most of the projects claimed to have been executed by the city government appeared to be funded either by federal or provincial government or did not exist at all.
When asked to comment on President Musharraf's remarks in admiration of City Nazim Niamatullah Khan a few days back, the minister asserted that the president had never given such a statement.
"Instead, the president had said that when he visited Karachi in 2003, the infrastructure was in a bad shape, but now visible improvement could be witnessed,'' he added.
Some of the projects listed in the advertisement are Shah Faisal and FTC flyovers, Karachi Mass Transit Project, KCR, establishment of 32 new colleges, leasing of Katchi Abadis, UTS, K-III, Lyari Expressway, Northern Bypass, Mehran Highway, model parks, Lyari Expressway Resettlement Scheme, Safari Park, etc.
About the new colleges, Mr Bokhari claimed that not a single college had been established by the city government. "These colleges have been opened by the Sindh government under the ADP. The provincial government was providing funds for free distribution of books among students of primary schools.''
Regarding the Shah Faisal flyover, he pointed out that the project had been proposed by the provincial government and approved in 1995 by the ECNEC. Similarly, he said, the mass transit project was being handled by the federal and provincial governments.
"The city government is not capable of undertaking such projects. It is also not authorized to provide sovereign guarantee to investors for the project.'' The minister told reporters that the Mehran Highway, Lyari Expressway and Northern Bypass projects were funded by the federal government and being executed by federal departments.
With regard to the Urban Transport Scheme (UTS), he said that the new buses were being operated by private companies and the city government had no contribution to this scheme.
The minister said that the governor and provincial government had taken the initiative of reviving the Lyari Development Authority (LDA) and Malir Development Authority (MDA). The city government had nothing to do with the initiative, he added. -PPI
