HYDERABAD, Nov 16: Dist-rict Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil has said Rs200 million will be released in a month to launch the first phase of development works under the Hyderabad Development Package.

At a briefing on the package at the district nazim’s secretariat on Monday, he said schemes pertaining to water supply and drainage would be given priority to ensure sustainability of other development infrastructure and solve problems of important and immediate nature on priority basis.

He alleged that previous governments had ignored the Hyderabad city where people were facing many basic problems. He said that due to status quo, problems of people had accumulated and aggravated and it would take some time to resolve them.

The nazim stressed upon consultants to evolve a systematic physical, financial and economical integrated development plan to meet needs of the increasing population of Hyderabad up to 2015 with identification of need assessment up to 2025 so that future interests of people could be secured.

Briefing the nazim, package consultant Asim Osmani said more than 60 sub-projects had been identified under the project so far and PC-I for 12 of the projects had been approved. He said prequalification of contractors had been finalized and an inception report about development schemes had been submitted which was being evaluated by stakeholders.

The nazim directed consultants to take into consideration issues of ground water, solid waste management and preparation of a master plan along with implementation of the Hyderabad project.

He said workshops, group discussions and other methodologies should be applied to seek guidance and consultation of people and other stakeholders before finalizing any technical project.

DCO Mohammad Hussain Syed, who is the project director, briefed the nazim about the progress on schemes under the project. He also briefed the nazim about importance of different proposed development schemes.

Officers of the Hyderabad Development Authority, works and services department and other nation-building departments attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, denying allegations levelled by some union council nazims at a press conference, the nazim told journalists that the district government was committed to serve people without any discrimination and claimed that ethnic differences were matters of past.

He said a joint meeting of union council nazims of City, Latifabad and Qasimabad talukas and the management of the HDA was called at the Jinnah Hall in Hyderabad on Nov 10 to discuss matters pertaining to the HDA. He said that besides UC nazims, all taluka nazims were also invited to the meeting. As such, he added, the allegation of ignoring UC nazims belonging to a particular community was baseless.

He said that as far as the transfer of the Wasa managing director was concerned, it had been made because former managing director Shaukat Hayat Bhutto was not an engineer or a technical person and belonged to the establishment division. He, therefore, had been posted at a right place as secretary of the HDA because the Wasa managing director had to be a technical person, the nazim added.

He said Zulfiqar Arain had been suspended for his negligence in duty following strong protest by people after a child drowned in an open gutter in Qasimabad phase-II where Mr Arain had been posted to supervise the drainage system.

Clarifying his position about forcible possession of the Ladies Club by the Evacuee Trust Property, the nazim said the district government had strong reservations against the step and it stood by people of Hyderabad.

He said the ETP was a federal government organization and it did not come under the control of the district government.

He said a letter had been sent to the Sindh governor to intervene in the matter. He said the concerned department should be directed to vacate the club immediately to avoid resentment among people. He said the case had also been forwarded to the ETP director general.

SECTION 144: District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil here on Tuesday declared all examination centres of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad, as prohibited areas and imposed a ban under section 144 for seven days on the movement of unconcerned persons within the radius of 50 meters of the examination centres.