HYDERABAD, Jan 17: Sindh Minister for Local Bodies and Rural Development Mohammad Hussain has underscored the need for creating a Sindh local government commission and strengthening union councils, saying that union councils are backbone of the local government system.

He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a 20MGD water supply pipeline from Kotri downstream to Hyderabad filter plant at Kotri Barrage on Wednesday.

He said that the proposed commission should function at district and taluka level to check corrupt practices of government officers. Obviously, he added, people faced difficulties in reaching Karachi from the interior of Sindh for lodging complaints.

The minister said that due to lack of a water and sanitation policy at provincial and federal level, billions of rupees of national exchequer had been wasted.

He said that the biggest challenge for Hyderabad city was water supply and sewerage which, he claimed, was being properly handled by the district government.

He said that the provincial government was framing a policy to ensure that project funds of any agency were utilised through monitoring.

Speaking on the occasion, District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil said that Rs330 million had been spent on laying the pipeline to the filter plant and other water works to resolve the issue of water shortage on account of annual canal closure of the barrage.

He said that the pipeline’s water carrying capacity would be upgraded to 50MGD by the end of current year, adding that actual time of the project completion was 14 months but it was completed in four months.

COMMITTEE: Later talking to journalists, the minister said that the Sindh government had been holding talks with the World Bank officials on formation of a provincial steering committee to look after water and sanitation works. He said that the summary of steering committee had been submitted to the Sindh chief minister.

He said that a seminar was being organised in Islamabad on January 23 to discuss water and sanitation issues with four provinces.

Answering a question about delay in release of Hyderabad Development Package funds by the federal government, he said that a meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf would be held to discuss the issue.

About non-existence of any disaster management body in Sindh, he said that capabilities of even the federal government to cope with a disaster of huge magnitude were exposed in October 2005 earthquake.

He said that same was the case with Sindh and other provinces and added that it needed legislation by at least two provinces whereas the Sindh Assembly had passed a resolution to this effect.He said that initially a national disaster management authority would be formed by the federal government and then by provincial authorities.

Answering another question abut the Sindh chief minister’s reported disapproval of Rs120 million subsidy for the Water and Sanitation Agency, he said that there was some confusion in this regard because a Rs1.5 million monthly instalment had been released by him but the issue needed to be discussed further.

Mr Hussain said that work to upgrade water and sanitation system was being executed not only in Hyderabad but in other cities also.