KARACHI The Sindh Assembly was told on Tuesday that a controversy between the provincial and city governments over the mass transit programme had delayed the execution of the CNG buses project for Karachi.

Responding to a question raised by Farheen Mughal and supplementary questions raised by other MPAs during question hour, Transport Minister Akhtar Hussain Jadoon informed the house that despite the row, Sindh would now get 4,000 CNG buses under a federal government national mass transit programme.

About the delay in the establishment of high-pressure CNG filling stations for these buses, the minister said 'We now have allotted land for the establishment of five such stations in Karachi at different places, including that on Sharea Faisal.

'The federal government will give a Rs700,000 subsidy on each bus and soon after the completion of the CNG filling stations, provision of these buses will start,' he added.

'In this regard we held a meeting with State Bank officials this month and discussed relevant financial matters,' the minister said.

In response to a question raised by Husna Aftab, the minister said that the government intended to shift bus stands for intercity vehicles from Karachi to outside the city.

'These schemes have been sent to the federal government through the planning and development department and if approved and funded in ADP 2009-10, they would be implemented within two years,' he said.