KARACHI, Nov 27: The government has decided to ensure close cooperation among various service providing agencies before initiating development work on 17 important roads of the city which are being commercialised under the Karachi Package so that the agencies should complete their work before hand to avoid inconvenience to people.

This decision was taken at a high-level meeting held on Saturday with Sindh chief minister's advisor on local government, Waseem Akhtar, in the chair.

The meeting also recommended formation of a six-member committee, headed by the city Nazim for close mutual cooperation at the time of commercialization of the roads. The other members of the committee would be DCO, KBCA chief, managing directors of the Karachi Water and Sewwerage Board, KESC and Sui Southern Gas.

Speaking on the occasion, the advisor stressed the need for close cooperation among agencies to avoid any obstacle in the development work.

The water and sewerage board and KESC be informed in advance about the commercialisation plan so that the agencies should complete their development work.

Attended by the additional chief secretary Local Government Mohammad Salim Khan, additional secretary Ghulam Arif, DCO Fazlur Rehman, KBCA chief Brig (Retd) A S Nasir, KWSB MD Brig Iftikhar Haider, EDO Master Plan, Atiq Baig, EDO Finance, Shoaib Siddiqui and KESC chief engineers, the meeting decided that the income generated from commercialization of roads would be spent on their maintenance, repair and construction.

The roads which are being commercialised are: Sharea Faisal, Tariq Road, Rashid Minhas Road, University Road, Sharea Pakistan, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Shershah Suri Road, Shaharah-i-Jehangir, Khayaban-i-Iqbal, Khayaban-i Jami, Khalid Bin Waleed Road, Jamaluddin Afghani Road, Allama Iqbal Road, Sir Syed Ahmad Road, Shaheed-i-Millat Road, Chaudhry Khaliq-uz-Zaman Road and Beach Avenue Road.

The meeting also decided that a plan be prepared in advance for allowing high-rise buildings in the coastal area to generate income. The meeting also directed the KBCA chief to expedite the regularization work.-APP