KARACHI: The Supreme Court-mandated commission on water and sanitation in Sindh on Friday directed the chief executive officer of a Chinese firm working in Karachi to arrange vehicles and staff within 15 days for the purpose of sanitation work in district West.

The managing director of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), Saeed Mangnejo, and the CEO of Hagzhou Jinjiang sanitation company, Ms Byky Lin, appeared before the commission after the chairman of the district municipal corporation West had filed a complaint against them for not performing their job in the district.

After hearing both sides, the commission headed by retired Justice Amir Hani Muslim observed that the Chinese firm had failed to persuade the commission regarding the violations it was committing wilfully.

It granted 15 days to the sanitation company to ensure the presence of vehicles and employees, which they previously failed to arrange, and warned that in case of non-compliance, the work will be outsourced at the cost of the firm to other contractors.

The commission also asked the DMC West chairman to provide the entire staff as per the agreement with the sanitation firm within 15 days and also directed the local government secretary to transfer their salaries from the Octroi and Zila Tax share.

Water distribution

The commission directed the Karachi commissioner, managing director of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KSWB) and other officials to sit together and come up with proposals for fair distribution of water in the provincial capital.

In a previous hearing, Justice Muslim had expressed resentment over alleged unfair distribution of water in the city and summoned the commissioner.

On Friday, Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani submitted a report in this regard, but the commission observed that the issue needed to be discussed in depth.

Therefore, it said that a meeting must be convened on Dec 23, which will be attended by the commissioner, KSWB chief, all the deputy commissioners and DMCs’ chairmen of Karachi.

The meeting will be held at the office of the commission’s focal person, Asif Hyder Shah, it added.

Filter plant

The commission directed a contractor to ensure that a filter plant with a capacity of five million gallons daily (MGD) in Hyderabad must be made functional within a week.

The chairman of a task force, Jamal Mustafa Syed, informed the commission that the filter plant had been found in an abandoned state.

The commission summoned the industries secretary, SITE managing director and chief engineer.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2018