KARACHI, Feb 15: Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister for Local Government, Waseem Akhtar said on Tuesday that 1,240 katchi abadis across the province would be regularized and special discounted rates would be charged from widows and handicapped.

He was addressing the lease camp at the Abuzar colony/Ali Mohammad Goth, New Karachi. The camp was set up in connection with the "Lease Week" organized by the Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority (SKAA) that began from Feb 8.

The adviser said the SKAA Authority had assigned the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) to regularize 212 slums in the city but the process in this respect was very slow.

Mr Akhtar deplored that despite passage of three years, the CDGK had failed to accomplish the task of regularizing the notified slums. "The city nazim had concentrated during this period just on awarding tenders to the contractors of his own choice," he alleged.

The adviser directed the SKAA officials to gear up the pace of development works in the katchi abadis so that the people living there could get all the basic amenities. On the occasion he was informed that so far a total of Rs3.415 million had been recovered from the area as lease fee.

In the Ali Muhammad Goth, four Challans were issued and 40 houses were measured, while four Challans were issued and 30 houses measured in the Abbasi Nagar, four Challans issued and 27 houses measured in the Makka colony and 10 Challans issued and 16 houses measured in the Abuzar colony.

Mr Akhtar gave away lease documents to 115 persons. SKAA Director General MNA Abdul Waseem, Mir Nasir Abbas and others also spoke. -PPI/APP