KARACHI, Dec 30: Contractors have either stopped or slowed down work on almost all major development projects in the metropolis apparently due to the delay in disbursement of their dues.

Sources in the city government’s works and services department and the KWSB told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that work on these projects, mostly pertaining to roads, water supply and sewerage system, had been affected for want of funds. They said the city government was currently faced with a paucity of funds.

Describing the CDGK financial position as ‘a temporary phase’, insiders said that most of the contractors would slow down the pace of work to exert pressure on the CDGK for the release of their dues whenever the bills pertaining to the completed work were kept pending.”

The sources expressed the hope that the pace of work would return to a normal speed as soon as the allocated funds for the projects concerned were released to the city government. “All out efforts are being made to clear the previous bills. The higher authorities have already asked the departments concerned to make at least part-payment against the contractors’ pending bills,” they added.

Citing the reasons behind the CDGK’s financial constraints, the sources said that the city government’s debt burden had increased because some departments devolved to it had brought heavy financial liabilities. The federal government’s act of deducting matching grant in lieu of octroi at source prior to the release the funds had immensely added to the burden.

It is since the abolition of octroi/zila tax that the city government relies on the federal and provincial transfers from the additional 2.5 per cent GST which is levied with the objective of offsetting the impact of the octroi/zila tax. However, the income from the GST makes much less than the amount collected by the defunct local councils under the head of the octroi/zila tax.

The projects which were scheduled to be completed months ago include more than one dozen road construction, four major water and sewerage rehabilitation schemes for Landhi, Korangi, Federal B Area and North Karachi, Bath Island’s storm-water drainage system and Clifton’s water augmentation scheme.

The road projects which are lying incomplete one track of the main University Road between Gulshan Town office and New Town roundabout; a major section of Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road (between Spencer’s Building and Pakistan Chowk), Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society’s main road (between Sharea Faisal intersection and Tariq Road), one track of Altaf Ali Barelvi Road (between Sindhi Hotel and Askari Park near old Sabzi Mandi), Shahrah-i-Orangi (between Banaras Chowk and Orangi Town No.5), one track of Fakhruddin Valika Road (between Siddik Sons Chowrangi and Habib Chowrangi), Kashmir Road/Shahrah-i-Quaideen, Shah Waliullah Road (between KBR point and Nagan intersection), etc.

The other roads which had been ploughed some time back for reconstruction include Martin Road (between Teen Hatti and PIB petrol pump), one track of Shahrah-i-Pakistan (between Aisha Manzil and Sohrab Goth intersections), one track of the Aisha Manzil-Landhi Kotal road.

Different sections of Rashid Minhas Road, Gulshan Chowrangi, Drive-in Cinema intersection, Jauhar Morr and Jauhar Chowrangi are also lying incomplete after digging having been carried out for the construction of a flyover and underpass and for the reduction of a road and installation of traffic signal in the vicinity of the project site.