HYDERABAD, Jan 6: Sindh Minister for Local Bodies, Katchi Abadis and Spatial Development Mohammad Hussain on Saturday outrightly rejected the idea of devolving the management of Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) down to taluka level.

The minister told a news conference after chairing a meeting of Hyderabad Development Package’s steering committee at district nazim's secretariat that the departments, which maintained underground sewerage and drainage networks spread crisscrossed all over the district, “cannot be devolved to taluka level".

"We are aware that after execution of massive development works, their recurring expenses will also increase and they will require proper maintenance as well. That’s why we are paying attention to Wasa," he said adding that the agency’s working capacity was being increased.

A summary for the grant of Rs120 million annual subsidy to Wasa had been sent to chief minister who would sign it after returning from Saudi Arabia, he said.

Mr. Hussain said that a technical committee was being formed to monitor and ensure quality of work being carried out by the consultant under the HDP.

The committee would comprise provincial government's technical officials and carry out frequent checks to ensure quality of work. Such a mechanism would be helpful for ensuring that the contractor concerned did not rush through laying water supply or sewerage projects, he said.

The minister said that Sindh government was framing a sewerage and water supply system policy on the pattern of federal government’s and the province’s ADP volume stood at Rs40 billion as against Rs6.5 billion in 2002-03.

Sindh government had allotted 300 acres of land to the district for establishing industrial zone, he said, adding that such zones would be set up in Mirpurkhas, Larkana, Nawabshah and Sukkur also.

To a question he said that "Yes there are some problems in the release of funds which the federal government had earlier committed." Initially it was misunderstanding which scuttled the release of Rs1 billion prime minister's package. The premier believed that the package had been made part of Rs10.5 billion presidential package but the snags had been removed now, he said.

He said that the departments of federal government, cantonment board and other organisations owed huge amounts to utility organisations.