KARACHI, Jan 13: The city government's advisory committee, which met here on Thursday with City Nazim Niamatullh Khan in the chair, decided to hand over parks and playgrounds to the concerned town administrations.

The advisory committee, comprising nazims of all 18 towns of the city, also formed a three-member team to ensure that only quality merchandise was available at bachat bazaars and the prices were also at lower side compared to those prevailing in ordinary markets and outlets.

Another committee has been formed to check quality of work vis-a-vis high-rises and multi-storied buildings in the city.

Taking strong notice of the complaints that on the one hand, substandard items are being sold at the bachat bazaars, and on the other, exorbitantly high rates are charged, the asked the newly-formed team to take effective measures to ensure that only quality goods were sold, to the customers visiting any bachat bazaar in the city, at reasonable prices.

The team is headed by the EDE Entreprise and Investment Promotion with nazims of Gulshan Town and North Karachi Town being its other members. Emphasizing the need for ensuring quality of work in the construction of high rises and multi storied buildings, the advisory committee formed another team headed by Chief Controller of Buildings Brig (r) A. S. Nasir, and assigned it the task of ensuring that the prescribed standards were being maintained by builders of such buildings and plazas.

City Nazim Niamatullah Khan, speaking at the meeting, said that all the development projects initiated under the Rs29 billion Taameer-i-Karachi Programme (TKP) would be completed within three years.

Giving details of the funding formula adopted for the implementation of the TKP, he said that the major portion, which came to about Rs12 billion, of the programme's total outlay consisted of the contribution by stakeholders coming forward for executing different uplift plans in their respective jurisdictions.

He said that the CDGK's share was Rs6 billion but it had allocated Rs2 billion under its budget 2004-05. The Sindh government's share was also Rs6 billion and it has provided Rs1 billion in the current financial year.

He said that the federal government's share, Rs5 billion, was supposed to be allocated in the next fiscal year. Referring to model parks in the city, Niamatullah Khan said that 10 such parks had already been developed and opened to public.

The process of calling tenders and meeting other formalities with regard to eight other parks have been completed, he added. One model park for each of the 18 towns had been pledged to be built by the city government.

The nazim directed the EDO Higher Education to see that all the necessary staff required for the Shah Faisal College was posted there within a fortnight. Earlier, the City Nazim's Adviser on Technical Affairs, Salim Azhar, informed the meeting that the construction work on Shahrah-i-Jehangir and Allama Rasheed Turabi Road under the second phase would be started shortly.

He said that tenders for Shahrah-i-Jehangir had already been floated whereas those for Allama Rasheed Turabi Road were under process. The meeting was attended, among others, by DCO Fazalur Rehman, EDOs and the officials associated with the Taameer-i-Karachi Programme.

GROUND REALITIES: Speaking at a seminar on Science, Society and the Civic Problems in Mega Cities, organized by the Usman Institute of Technology (UIT), the city nazim said he did have the political will to resolve major problems being faced by the city and its people, but denial of cooperation and adequate powers, coupled with incessant interference by certain quarters, had been undermining his efforts to restore the past glory of Karachi, add agencies.

Niamatullah Khan said that all decisions about Karachi should be taken in Karachi, and told Karachiites that those having taken refuge outside the country were not acceptable to people.

Recounting achievements of the city government so far, Niamatullah Khan recalled that it had inherited a ruined city but now, with a visible improvement and development, it looked a lively mega city.

Referring to a presentation, painting a gloomy picture of the city's recent past, Niamatullah Khan remarked that there were a number of other ground realities, e.g. collapsed infrastructure, worsening education system, chronic transport and traffic problems, dilapidated water and sewerage system and scores of other such problems.

However, he added, "it is also a ground reality that the development work undertaken over the past three years are unmatched in the history of Karachi.'' Apart from the development activities, the nazim pointed out, education system had been improved, health sector registered progress, a network of roads and flyovers was laid, new transport culture was introduced and a significant but positive change was brought in the city's routine life.

He deplored that real objective of the devolution plan - to transfer powers at grassroots level - was yet to be accomplished. Devolution of various departments under the plan has remained an unfulfilled dream so far, with UCs still without power in spite of being 'basic unit' of the new system.

Arif Hassan, a noted town planner, said that people should be consulted at the conceptual process of a project. He said a project launched without involving people was bound to fail.

Nauman Ahmed, also a town planner, told the seminar that the city of 150 million people, unfortunately, was still without a master plan and this was causing haphazard expansion of the city and emergence of slums in a big number. He pointed out rapid construction of illegal structures, which is not only adding to environment degradation but also giving an ugly look to metropolis.

BUS TERMINI: City Nazim Niamatullah Khan has said that termini would be constructed at seven different locations in the city for buses, mini-buses and coaches. Construction of termini for inter-city buses on National Highway and RCD Highway had already been started, he added.

The nazim said that the inter-city bus terminus being built at the RCD Highway would be completed within the next three months whereas the land for terminal on the Super Highway site had been allocated and construction work would be started soon.

He was speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony of a local bus terminal at Sector 7-D of Surjani Town here on Thursday. Similar termini would be constructed in sectors 5-D and 7-D also.

Mr Khan said that construction of these terminals would help eliminate the illegal bus stands scattered elsewhere in the city. He said that the work on the construction of 471 bus shelters had also begun. The shelters, he added, would have toilets, telephone booths and other facilities. There would be separate waiting space for men and women in these shelters.

The ceremony was also addressed by Nazim of North Karachi Town Shafiqur Rehman Usmani, SSP Traffic Commander Shujaat, Adviser to City Nazim Mohammed Tufail, Abid Ilyas, Qazi Sadruddin, President of the Transport Ittehad Irshad Bukhari and General Secretary Malik Khalid Awan, DO Hayat Kamal and others.