Rs8 Billion Has Been Earmarked For Karachi’s 19 Infrastructure Development Projects
The Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government has allocated Rs8 billion in the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 for a total of 19 infrastructure development schemes in Karachi, around Rs6bn more than what it had allocated for the metropolis in the outgoing financial year, it emerged on Tuesday.
However, the Rs8 billion allocated in the budget for 2021-22 under the heading of “Mega Schemes for Karachi City” is not deemed proportional to Karachi’s population or the amount of revenue the city provides to the provincial coffers.
According to budget documents, the Sindh government has set aside Rs8 billion for 13 new and six going on major development projects in Karachi for the next fiscal year, compared to barely Rs1.94 billion for 19 major projects in the previous fiscal year 2020-21.
The apparent reason for the Rs6 billion increase in budgetary allocations is that the elected local government system in Karachi, led by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, completed its four-year term at the beginning of FY 2020-21, and bureaucrats have been running the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and District Municipal Corporations (DMCs) as administrators for the past ten months.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah criticized the elected set-up and lauded administrators in his budget speech to the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday, saying that the KMC and DMCs “of Karachi have long been afflicted with maladministration and inadequate resource generation.” Their elected officials had been unable to guide them in the appropriate direction. Things have begun to improve after the appointment of administrators.”
The CM said that the development portfolio of the Sindh local government department has been set at Rs25.5 billion for 264 existing and 291 new development initiatives. “Rs8 billion has also been planned for mega-projects in Karachi. We’ll put greater emphasis on completing current projects as quickly as possible, and we’ll aim to keep our portfolio of new projects to a minimum,” he added.
The following is a breakdown of the PKR 6.6 billion earmarked for more prominent of these projects:
- PKR 1.6 billion has been set aside for the construction of a flyover in Jauhar Chowrangi.
- PKR 1.1 billion has been allocated for the construction of Shahrah-i-Noor Jahan from Abdullah College to Qalandaria Chowk in North Nazimabad
- In Lyari, PKR 995 million has been set aside for the reconstruction/rehabilitation of Chakiwara Road, Mehrab Khan Essa Road, and Tannery Road.
- PKR 450 million for the construction of a road from Gulberg Chowrangi to the UBL Sports Complex
- PKR 370 million for the rehabilitation of a road from Shershah Chowk to the Mirza Adam Khan Road intersection.
- PKR 261 million has been set aside for the improvement/rehabilitation of internal roads/streets in Dr. Ruth Pfau.
- PKR 250 million has been allocated for the development of the public park in district Central
- A total of PKR 600 million is set aside for these three projects:
- Rehabilitation and widening of the road from Razzaqabad to the Sheedi Goth Powerhouse.
- Rehabilitation and construction of the Rafiqi Shaheed Road from Sharea Faisal to Askari-II.
- Rehabilitation of the approach roads to the Lyari Expressway
In addition to the projects stated above, the provincial government has contributed PKR 1 billion to the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan, commonly known as S-III, for the restoration and development of main drains in the city. Similarly, the Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme, commonly known as the K-IV project, has been granted PKR 800 million to meet the city’s rising water demands.