• Asks them to utilise services of SSWMB, water utility to resolve cleanliness, sewerage related issues
• Directs LG department to initiate uplift works across 25 towns

KARACHI: Expressing dissatisfaction over the performance of the city’s 25 town municipal corporations (TMCs) and their chairmen, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has asked local government representatives to ensure cleanliness in the city by utilising services of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation.

The sanitation situation across the city has deteriorated after recent rains as most of the inner streets and lanes in different neighbourhoods are littered with garbage while puddles of stinking rainwater and sewage have also formed in many areas.

The major arteries and roads, however, are comparatively in better shape, which are mostly maintained by the city administration.

At a meeting on Tuesday, which was attended among others by ministers Nasir Shah, Saeed Ghani and Mayor Murtaza Wahab, the chief minister urged the TMCs, which are under control of chairmen of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and opposition Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, to play active role to serve the people effectively and fulfil their responsibility to work within their domains.

“Now the elected local bodies are in place and it is their responsibility to work for the benefit of the people of the city.”

Well-placed sources told Dawn that the chief minister wanted the town chairmen to monitor and oversee the garbage disposal management and maintenance of sewerage system in their respective towns and resolve the civic issues through the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation.

Similarly, they said, the chief minister also wanted the TMCs to maintain streets, roads, and public spaces utilising the services of the SSWMB. They said that the town chairmen were asked to identify development work in their respective towns which would be monitored by the project director of the CLICK.

A press statement issued from CM House said that the chief minister also highlighted the need to repair or install streetlights across the city’s towns, ensuring that all public spaces were well-lit and safe.

“I want the streets and roads to be kept in good condition, with parks and public places well-developed, and streetlights functioning. It is essential for the well-being and safety of Karachi’s residents,” he directed.

The chief minister also urged the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the city’s 25 towns to expedite development projects and maintain cleanliness throughout the metropolis.

The CM emphasised the importance of leveraging elected local bodies, including union councils, towns, and the KMC, to serve the city’s residents effectively.

“We now have elected local bodies in place, and it is their responsibility to work within their domains to benefit the people and the city,” he said.

The chief minister also instructed the local government department to initiate development works across the 25 towns of the city.

He noted that Rs10.4 billion had been allocated for these projects under the Competitive and Liveable City of Karachi (CLICK) project.

The chief minister directed the mayor to accelerate the formalities for six key development projects that had already received approval.

These projects included the rehabilitation of Shadab Football Ground, Block-11, Federal B Area, development of a Park & IT Centre in Shadman Town, rehabilitation of Baldia Stadium, construction of Memon Goth Road, construction of multi-purpose community centres in various union councils and development of a community centre in Malir.

The mayor assured the chief minister that two of the community centre projects have been approved, with land acquisition issues for the remaining ones being resolved.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2024