March 09, 2008	Sunday	Safar 30, 1429

KARACHI, March 8: The city district government Karachi (CDGK) and the National Highway Authority (NHA) are on a collision course over the collection of toll tax at two mega-projects – the Lyari Expressway and the Northern Bypass – as the former has sought the federal government’s intervention to get control of toll tax collection.

The CDGK had provided the right of way to the federal government for the construction of the two mega-projects, which were constructed by the NHA. However, the NHA was collecting tax from vehicles at the two projects.

Well-placed sources in the CDGK told Dawn that City Nazim Mustafa Kamal recently wrote a letter to the federal government pointing out that the toll tax being collected at the Lyari Expressway and the Northern Bypass by the NHA was beyond its mandate because the two projects are within the administrative limits of the Karachi city government instead of being inter-provincial highways.

He pointed out in the letter addressed to the caretaker federal minister for communication that President Pervez Musharraf had granted the two projects as a “gift” to the people of Karachi.

The CDGK took the plea that the people of Karachi had not only suffered financial losses and mental agony during the process of displacement but had also contributed a major part of the cost of the project in the shape of valuable land and, therefore, the benefit, if any, should go to them.

The federal government was requested to shift the mandate to the CDGK with regard to the collection of toll tax at the Lyari Expressway as well as the Northern Bypass for the betterment and proper uplift of the metropolis.

However, a source in the NHA told Dawn that the federal government had spent a huge amount on the construction of the two projects and the toll being collected ultimately goes to the federal government.

The source, however, conceded that the two projects could not be completed without the support of the city government. He also admitted that the CDGK provided land for the resettlement of displaced people, though the federal government had borne the cost.

Last month, the south-bound track of the Lyari Expressway was inaugurated by President Musharraf. The project was completed at a cost of Rs13 billion while work to construct the north-bound track was still in progress.

The Lyari Expressway is meant for light traffic while the Northern Bypass caters to heavy traffic, as all goods reach the port by using the Northern Bypass without entering the city.

Nearly 24,000 families were displaced during the process of constructing the south-bound carriageway of the Lyari Expressway and had been settled in three areas – Taiser Town, Hawkesbay and Baldia Town – at a cost of Rs5 billion.The Northern Bypass was opened to vehicular traffic in August 2007. The 57-km-long project was aimed at accelerating the movement of heavy traffic carrying goods meant for export as well as imported goods without hampering the traffic flow in the city, besides providing a direct link between Karachi Port and the newly constructed Gwadar Port through the Makran Coastal Highway.

About six years back, President Musharraf performed the groundbreaking of the 16.6km-long Lyari Expressway and the 57km-long Northern Bypass.