HYDERABAD: Mut­tahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s MPA Zubair Ahmed Khan said on Sunday his party would file a petition in Sindh High Court over Sindh government’s failure to release funds to MQM-P constituencies out of Rs800 million community development fund (CDF).

Mr Khan told reporters at a press conference at local press club that Rs300 million from the CDF had been released to Hyderabad commissioner Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo to spend on PPP constituencies of PS-47, 50 and NA-221.

He said the share of the CDF came to Rs1.10 billion for Hyderabad district from the Rs20,000 million allocated for all constituencies of entire Sindh.

Rs100 million from this fund were spent on only seven solar energy schemes in PS-47, the constituency of Sindh Minister for Local Government Jam Khan Shoro while and six MQM-P constituencies were ignored, he said.

He said that Sindh government had approved Rs4 billion for water and sewerage schemes for Hyderabad on the directives of the Supreme Court-appointed commission on water and appealed to the apex court chief justice to form a monitoring committee to supervise use of the fund and ensure the public money was spent in a transparent manner.

He said that Sindh government owed billion of rupees to Hyderabad on account of Octroi Zila Tax dues and complained that no mega project had been executed in Hyderabad over the past 10 years while the LG minister had been sitting on resources of Qasimabad for 17 years.

Mr Khan said that 26 water filter plants installed in Hyderabad were closed due to poor maintenance and appealed to Supreme Court, water commission and NAB to conduct inquiries into the use of funds released to urban areas.

He said that Rs21 billion were allocated in 2016-17 budget and Rs28 billion in 2017-18 for the local government department but nobody knew where the huge funds had been spent.

He said the LG minister claimed to have given Rs800 million to Wasa but there was no proof of utilisation of the amount.

Mr Khan commented on a press conference held by PPP leaders Zahid Bhurgari and Abdul Jabbar Khan on Jan 15 and said that he wanted to know if PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah condoned the negative politics of the LG minister and his group. If they did not rein him in, MQM-P lawmakers would not be able to control their voters and supporters, he warned.

Asked about the use of CDF funds, Commissioner Mr Mangnejo said: “CDF does not belong to any MPA or MNA. Various schemes which are approved according to needs and demand of people are executed from this fund.”

Local Government minister Jam Khan Sho­ro was not available for comm­ents.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2018