KARACHI, July 5: The Sindh government returned on Saturday the administrative control of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to the city government by reconstituting the board of the water utility.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that the decision was taken on the directives of Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and in consent with Local Government Minister Agha Siraj Durrani.

The government, through a notification dated July 5, appointed City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal as chairman of the KWSB in place of Mr Durrani.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 4(I) of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Act 1996 and in suppression of all the earlier notifications issued in this behalf, the government of Sindh is pleased to reconstitute the KWSB,” says the notification.

However, an MPA from Larkana, Haji Munawar Abbasi of the PPP, would continue as vice-chairman of the 19-member board of the water utility.

Other members of the KWSB are additional chief secretary (development); secretaries of the local government, industries and finance departments; special secretary local government; five town nazims to be co-opted by the chairman; chairman Karachi Port Trust; chairman Karachi Electric Supply Company; president Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; managing-director KWSB; executive officer military lands Karachi; a nominee of the chairman Defence Housing Authority and divisional superintendent Pakistan Railways.

On April 24, the Sindh government took administrative control of the KWSB by appointing Agha Siraj Durrani as its chairman by removing the city nazim from the slot. Following this, the city nazim declared the KWSB as the water and sanitation group of offices of the city government and directed the then MD to continue working as executive district officer of the water and sanitation department.

Later, the Sindh government removed the then MD Ghulam Arif and appointed Suleman Chandio in his place.

Mr Durrani had claimed that it was the prerogative of the Sindh government to take control of the water utility. However, the nazim maintained the stance that the decision was illegal and in violation of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO 2001).

Both sides stuck to their guns as the withdrawal of administrative control of the KWSB from the CDGK caused a confrontation between the LG minister and the city nazim. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and chairman National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Dr Asim Hussain managed to get the two parties to agree to stop giving controversial statements against each other.

Last month, Mr Zardari presided over a high-level meeting where the issue of the KWSB also came under discussion. The PPP leader was in agreement with the city government’s stance that the water and sanitation task should be the responsibility of the CDGK.

However, instead of handing over control of the KWSB, the Sindh government dismissed over 6,000 employees of the water utility on the pretext that they had been hired during the caretaker government’s tenure.

Within hours, the Sindh government suspended its decision after the top leadership of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement contacted Mr Zardari to express its concern over the development.

The sources said that before presenting the KWSB budget, the LG minister met the Sindh governor and informed him that he was moving a summary to the chief minister that would enable the return of the KWSB’s administrative control to the city government.

They said that a couple of days earlier, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had approved the summary and on Saturday, the local government department issued a formal notification.