KARACHI, June 11: While the Sindh government has allocated a huge sum of Rs2.2 billion for four special packages for Lyari, Keamari, Malir and Karachi’s rural localities, it earmarked only Rs200 million for the city’s two thickly populated districts — central and east — in the new budget for 2012-13, it emerged on Monday.
However, it is for the first time since the 2008 general elections that a special package of Rs100 million has been given for the central district in the provincial budget.
The Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government once again allocated more funds for the areas believed to be the party’s strongholds in Karachi because these localities were deemed to have been kept underdeveloped during the former military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s regime.
Instead of forcing its major coalition partner to introduce a single mega development package for the whole city, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement also seems to be merely paying lip service to the elimination of an urban-rural divide. In his budget speech, Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah also did not talk about the much-dreaded divide in Karachi.
Without mentioning the spending on various development packages in the outgoing financial year, he told the assembly that Rs4.1 billion was spent on infrastructure development, which included 24 ongoing schemes and 18 new ones, in Karachi. About special packages, Mr Shah said that Rs10.6 billion had been proposed for special packages, including Rs4.4 billion for Karachi, in the budget 2012-13.
The budget documents show that the Sindh government allocated Rs800 million for five ongoing schemes under the head of a special development package for Lyari. Similarly, Rs500 million was allocated for an ongoing scheme in Malir, Rs700 million and Rs200 million for development in Keamari and Karachi Rural, whereas Rs100 million each was proposed for the districts east and central, which are said to be MQM strongholds.
Unlike the previous budget (2011-12) when Rs2 billion was allocated for the Karachi development package, this time the coalition government renamed it as the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation package and allocated Rs2 billion for 10 ongoing development schemes.
The budget documents show that Rs200 million each was earmarked for the construction of flyovers at Water Pump, Ayesha Manzil and Liaquatabad Dakkhana. Besides, Rs242.65 million was allocated for a flyover at Teen Hatti, Liaquatabad. For a flyover on Nawab Siddiq Ali Khan Road near A.O. Clinic, Nazimabad, Rs162 million was allocated in the budget.
The Lyari development package has a block allocation of Rs340.56 million. Besides, Rs163 million was allocated for rehabilitation/improvement of roads and streets; Rs214.949 million for repair, renovation and rehabilitation of existing primary/secondary schools; and Rs71.162 million was allocated for renovation and improvement of existing playgrounds in Lyari.
As part of the special packages, a block allocation of Rs500 million was made for Malir, Rs700 million for Keamari, Rs200 million for Karachi Rural and Rs100 million each for the east and central districts.
The finance minister informed the assembly that Rs1 billion had been proposed for the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme, K-IV, in the new budget. He said the total cost of the project aimed at ensuring regular water supply to Karachi was Rs29.83 billion.In order to address city’s sewerage problems, the S-III project would be implemented at a total cost of Rs13.8 billion, with Rs1 billion proposed to be spent on it during the next financial year.
Special industrial zones
Mr Shah said that on a directive of President Asif Ali Zardari, special industrial zones would be set up in Lyari, Keamari, Bin Qasim and Gadap to further strengthen the city’s industrial infrastructure.
A cottage industrial estate was also proposed at the Hawkesbay, he said, adding that a combined effluent treatment plant with a capacity of four million gallons a day had also been proposed for the industrial areas of Karachi in the ADP for 2012-13.
Circular Railway
He said that the $1.55 billion Karachi Circular Railway project had been delayed on account of debt issues, removal of encroachment and allocation of land for resettlement. He said the KCR would have 43-kilometre-long dual tracks with 24 stations and it would be completed by the end of 2016 and would be operational in 2017.