KARACHI: Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah and Local Government (LG) Minister Nasir Hussain Shah on Saturday jointly chaired a high-level meeting on the civic issues of the metropolis.

The meeting held a detailed review of the city’s infrastructure, encroachments, traffic, water supply, sewage, waste management and illegal construction.

Chief Secretary Shah said, “Karachi’s problems cannot be resolved through the efforts of any single institution”.

He directed all relevant institutions to prepare a joint and time-bound action plan, stressing that instead of temporary campaigns, permanent solutions to the city’s longstanding problems should be presented.

He ordered institutions to undertake joint planning to prevent the repeated excavation of newly constructed roads.

The LG minister said that the benefits of development projects should be visible to citizens in the form of better roads and improved municipal services.

He directed local government institutions to increase field monitoring and ensure the timely completion of development projects.

The minister further directed that encroachments be removed from major roads, footpaths, stormwater drains and government land.

The meeting decided that an effective monitoring system would be established to prevent encroachments.

The chief secretary directed officials to identify major traffic congestion points and prepare area-specific traffic management plans.

Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, the chairman of the Planning Board, the Karachi commissioner, the additional chief secretary for LG, the principal secretary to the Sindh Governor, the Karachi Police Chief, the DIG Traffic, and other officials attended the meeting.

The mayor briefed the meeting on the city’s major municipal issues and the measures being taken to address them.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2026