HYDERABAD: Scores of road cutting permissions have been accorded to various organisations working for their commercial interests ever since municipal corporations and town municipal corporations have been formed in Hyderabad. This practice is not only causing losses to the treasury, but also playing havoc with road infrastructure and creating troubles for the general public.

The Hyderabad deputy commissioner had taken up the matter with the additional chief secretary (local government) through the commissioner a little before the Eid holidays.

The DC has written to the higher authorities that he had asked all corporations to stop the practice of issuing such permissions to save government from the losses but in vain.

He pointed out that road cutting under the permissions was continuously destroying road infrastructure, and urged the ACS to issue an order to the corporations to stop allowing the activity.

The DC has attached copies of some permissions issued by the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) and certain town municipal offices (TMOs).

The digging already carried out and still being undertaken is destroying the provincial highways, district highways and roads built by the federal government, Sindh government, local government and Public Works Department (PWD), the DC said.

He noted that prior to the formation of municipal corporations, his office being main coordinating office of the district, used to recommend approval of road cutting after getting their physical condition checked by engineers of relevant departments. Now, he said, municipal corporations were according such permission without bothering to get the physical condition of newly-constructed roads checked. If this is allowed to go on, all newly-constructed roads will also vanish, he cautioned.

The DC also mentioned that municipal corporations were collecting road cutting charges but the money was not utilised for the reconstruction of the dug up roads. Rather, it was used for other purposes, mostly disbursement of salaries, he added. “This practice of road cutting needs to be stopped forthwith,” he stressed in his letter.

Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro, when contacted by Dawn over phone, said that a copy of the DC’s letter was not received by his office as yet. He said it should have been sent to his office. He promised to get back with his comment on the DC’s letter but he did not.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2024