HYDERABAD: Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah has said the provincial government is working on a Rs5 billion package for the development of Hyderabad, a major part of which will be spent on drainage and sewerage sectors.

He told newsmen at the Hyderabad Press Club after meeting officers of various departments and visiting office of the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) Hyderabad here on Thursday that the Sindh government was serious in developing city centres.

An efficient utilisation of Rs960bn Annual Development Programme 2024-25 was the priority of the PPP government, he said and claimed that the impact of such a massive development portfolio — highest in any province — must be seen on ground.

He said that Bilawal Bhutto was keen to see that funds were utilised in the development sector and that was why he advised him to visit the divisional headquarters to personally see the pace of uplift works with utmost priority.

The chief secretary said the purpose of his visit was to ensure coordination among different departments and see that public money was utilised properly. Such meetings would be held in divisions, he said.

He issued directives to remove encroachments from public spaces and appreciated administrative response to recent rainfall in Hyderabad in draining out rainwater.

He promised to look into the 2009’s Gulistan-i-Sarmast housing scheme and get it probed besides discussing Kohsar Girls Medical College with the government.

He agreed that departments like the Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation (HW&SC) had issues in ensuring qualitative service delivery.

He said: “The Sindh government is serious in working out a Rs5bn package for Hyderabad city.” Substantial amount of the money would be spent on the drainage and sewerage sectors, he said.

He pointed out that drinking water and sanitation sectors were on top of government’s agenda. He was trying his level best to see pending development schemes were executed timely, considering the fact that the Sindh government did not include any single new scheme in 2024-25 budget only to ensure that previous backlog of schemes was cleared for the public good.

He said that the Hyderabad administration aimed at completing the development work on Autobahn Road by December, along with its storm-water drainage component.

He said the Hyderabad’s civic sector needs were already assessed and the government was committed to ensure that suspended works like Benazir Bhutto flyover were taken to their logical end so that people benefited at large.

Reviewing progress of development schemes at a meeting held at Shahbaz Hall, he stressed the need for efficient utilisation of Rs960bn uplift budget.

The CS was concerned about lack of inter-departmental cooperation and communication hindering effective budget usage and emphasised formulating a multi-pronged strategy to address that issue.

He said that there were often constraints on funds but the element of officers’ non- seriousness must be kept in mind. The officers must liaise with each other closely, he said.

The shortage of funds was often discussed but unfortunately the available funds were not utilised. He said he would request the chief minister to hold meetings with officers of each district in Karachi for development works because there were issues of schemes which needed strict decisions.

Warning against wastage of maintenance and repair (M&R) funds, he said the provision of clean drinking water should be top priority. The district coordination committees should be activated, he said.

Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro said that pumping stations of the Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation (HW&SC) must be linked with express feeders. The issue of funds’ constraints should also be addressed, he added.

Planning and Development (P&D) Chairman Syed Najam Shah assured of funds availability, but emphasised timely spending. He advised initiation of tendering process for the schemes immediately and revising or closing down inactive projects. He said that old schemes could not be completed with new rates of tenders.

Divisional Commissioner Bilal Memon talked about challenges, particularly absence of a master plan for Hyderabad and said the city’s growing population besides increasing problems in katchi abadis posed challenges exacerbated by urban flooding that damaged infrastructure.

He said the 2022 rains had devastated Johi and Khairpur Nathan Shah, disrupting educational activities due to dilapidated school buildings. Work on as many as 232 highway schemes, 97 buildings and education works and several other projects was under way in Hyderabad, he said.

He said the division had 25,610 ongoing schemes, including 15,722 of roads. Some amount of funds had been released. Funds’ constraints hit works and services schemes and likewise public health schemes also faced funding problems.

The school education secretary underscored the need for budget allocation for public schools in Ghotki, Sanghar, Matiari, Tando Mohammad Khan and Tando Allahyar.

The Dadu DC called for setting up an NICVD unit in Dadu and discussed challenges in completing district headquarters hospital and cadet college.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2024