HYDERABAD, Dec 3: Speakers at a seminar on “Good Governance” have expressed concern over delay in execution of Hyderabad development plan and called for preparing a master plan before its execution and utilizing the funds in a transparent manner.

Speakers also urged the union council representatives and parliamentarians to iron out their differences and jointly work for improving the city conditions.

The seminar was organized held here Wednesday by the Centre for Peace and Human Development.

A resolution adopted at the seminar said that before constructing roads, reports from the power and gas organizations and civic agencies must be obtained whether they were considering any digging on the site. The encroachments should be removed from the roads to widen them, it added.

Speaking on the occasion People’s Party Parliamentarians MPA Zahid Bhurgari said that while an MPA, who had to look after 12 union councils, was allocated only Rs5 million, a union council Nazim was given Rs3.7 million for development works.

He said when contractors were criticized for substandard work they said that since they had to pay a bribe amounting to 55 per cent of the cost a project, they could not ensure quality of work.

He supported the theory that drainage and sewerage schemes should be executed first in the city.

MPA Nuzhat Pathan accused the officials of raising obstructions in smooth execution of development works.

Deploring the lack of civic sense among the residents, she called for creating a sense of responsibility among them as far as the upkeep of infrastructure was concerned.

She said that before the Partition, the Hindu residents of Hyderabad even cared for animals as they had built water reservoirs for them. She deplored that today even graveyards were not protected where dogs desecrated the bodies.

She pointed out that the people were not committed to their city as they had not even held a single protest over the delay in execution of the uplift plan.

Reacting to Ms Pathan’s remarks, PPP leader Maula Bux Chandio recalled that the people were fired at when they raised voice for construction of roads.

The regional director, Sindh Participatory Organization, Noor Mohammad Bajeer, stressed the need for establishing a forum to work for the welfare of people of the city.

Union council Nazims, Dr Ayaz Arain and Abdul Khaliq Chandio, said that plans should be made in such a way that works carried out remained useful for 50 years.

They observed that the city’s problems were linked with the political system in the country and since there was no proper planning, everyone was suffering.

They said that unless the Sindh and district governments formulated joint policy, the conditions in the city would keep on deteriorating.

The speeches were followed by open discussion and a question and answer session. Jami Chandio of CPHD conducted proceedings of the seminar.