KARACHI, Jan 19: The acting City Nazim, Tariq Hassan, has said that the number of development plans undertaken in the city during the last three-and-a-half years has no parallel in the 57-year history of the city.

He was speaking at a largely attended foundation stone-laying ceremony of a road in Baldia Town's Rasheedabad. The road is being constructed with the funds of a City Council's councillor, Shagufta Jehanzeb.

Higly praising the new local government system, he said that the future of president Pervez Musharraf's local government devolution system has now brightened further following its grand success in the city.

"The new local government system whereby powers were devolved to grass-root level not only helped in resolving people's problems in various fields, especially in transport, education and health sectors, but also paved the way for undertaking an unprecedented number of upliftment plans in the metropolis," he added.

Terming the City Council's decision of decreasing the rates of lease of katchi abadis to a minimum of Rs 25 per square-yard a 'landmark', he hoped that the dwellers of katchi abadis will benefit from such low rates of lease by getting their houses leased.

Referring to Rasheedabad's electricity problem, he said that the city government in cooperation with the KESC will soon install a transformer to help resolve the electricity problem of the locality.

About the lingering water issue of Rasheedabad, Mr Hassan said that he would soon have a meeting with KWSB officials shortly after Eid holidays so as to help solve their water problem on a permanent basis.