KARACHI, Feb 2: Question hour during Monday’s Sindh Assembly session seemed to be the liveliest part of the whole proceedings as provincial Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani faced a host of questions from both the treasury and the opposition, with the most sparks flying over the issue of a proposed five star hotel opposite the Karachi Expo Centre, as well the progress of a government low cost housing scheme.By default or by design, Agha Siraj appeared to have adopted a milder tone with reference to Karachi’s city district government –led by the Pakistan People’s Party’s provincial and federal coalition partner, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – in an obvious volte-face from his earlier more confrontational attitude, as he fended off query after query from both sides of the divide, with some members in a clearly hawkish mood.

PPP member Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto had asked the minister if the CDGK had taken over eight acres of land belonging to the defunct district council situated near the Civic Centre, while also asking if the city government intended to auction the land in question for the construction of a five star hotel.

In his written reply, Mr Durrani said the CDGK had not taken over the land, but with the promulgation of the SLGO-2001, the city’s district council had been devolved to the CDGK. Hence, the properties, assets and liabilities of the defunct body had been transferred to the city government under Section 180 of the SLGO.

He added that as the land was lying unutilized, the CDGK had decided to use the land (located opposite the Expo Centre) to facilitate the foreign and out-of-city delegates who come to attend the various exhibitions held throughout the year at the Expo Centre. In this regard, a proposal had been moved in the City Council on Jan 28, 2008 to change the land use in order to develop the area under a public-private partnership.

In a supplementary question, Syeda Marvi Rashdi of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Functional asked what the need was to acquire the land in question considering that the Expo Centre was already located on a large plot of land.

The minister, reiterating what he had stated in the written reply, said that since the land was lying unutilized, the government wanted to develop it to facilitate foreign visitors.

Arif Mustafa Jatoi of the opposition National People’s Party stated that the land in question was worth approximately Rs8 billion, and asked what the terms of the public-private partnership were. “Is the land going to be transferred to the private party?” he asked.

Referring to the figure quoted by the NPP member, Mr Durrani said “I am not a real estate agent. It is just an idea. There have been no formal agreements. Whatever happens will happen in front of the whole province.”

Nadeem Bhutto also asked a series of questions about the supposed discrimination that existed when it came to the development of Karachi’s rural and urban areas. He asked what the total area of Karachi bifurcating urban and rural areas was; whether it was a fact that the rural areas were deprived of basic facilities such as health, education, drinking water, sewerage and gas and if the answer to the second question was affirmative, what the criteria of distribution of funds between the urban and rural areas was.

‘No discrimination’

In his written reply, the minister for local government said that as the entire area had been declared the city district government Karachi, as such there was no difference between the urban and rural areas. He added that the CDGK had undertaken development schemes concerning the provision of basic facilities in all 18 towns of the city including Gadap, Bin Qasim, Keamari and Lyari without any discrimination.The minister also replied that there was no criteria for distribution of funds along rural and urban lines as funds were distributed by the Provincial Finance Commission and not the CDGK, while he provided the distribution formula as notified by the commission.

“We are trying to do what we can. I’m personally supervising it. I, the nazim and the governor went throughout Karachi. We are doing what we can according to the funds available. Give me specific information,” Mr Durrani told the house with reference to development activities in Karachi.

In a supplementary question, Arif Jatoi objected to the figure of 18 million the minister had quoted in the written reply when mentioning the population of Karachi. “Funds are distributed on the basis of population. There will be a distortion in the distribution of funds because of this, as it appears most of Sindh resides in Karachi,” he said.

Mr Durrani said these were approximate figures on the record while the MQM’s Syed Sardar Ahmed told the house that the figure was a projection and had nothing to do with the Provincial Finance Commission.

Arif Jatoi also asked the name of the competent authority who appointed the chairman of the KDA and the chairman and MD of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, to which Agha Siraj replied that the chief minister of Sindh was the competent authority for the appointment of the chairman KDA and KWSB, while the services and general administration department was responsible for the appointment of the KWSB’s managing director.

“If the department has been devolved, why is the provincial government still involved?” Mr Jatoi asked in his supplementary question, to which the minister replied that devolution did not mean all authority had been taken away from the Sindh government.

A question regarding the government’s plan to build low cost houses for the poor also stimulated debate, as Arif Mustafa Jatoi asked what steps the government had taken to build the houses, and if housing had been declared an industry.

Agha Siraj Durrani, in his written reply, said that in pursuance of a decision of the federal cabinet taken in March 2008, the Sindh government had set up the People’s Housing Cell (PHC), which sought to build 100,000 houses in one year for the poor in Karachi, Nawabshah, Larkana and Khairpur. He added that housing had not been declared an industry.

‘Loaded with money’

An interesting exchange ensued when Mr Jatoi asked if the government had the funds to build such a large number of houses. Agha Siraj said that though around 700 houses had been planned to be built in the first two phases, additional structures would be built “when we get the money.”

“So you don’t have the money?” interjected Mr Jatoi, to which the minister shot back: “the government is loaded with money. We’ll release the funds when the time comes.”

Arif Jatoi asked why the land meant for low cost houses was being commercialized in Karachi, to which Mr Durrani replied that amenities and commercial areas were a requirement of any housing project.

“So, is the objective to make plazas?” asked the vocal NPP member.

“The priority is to provide low cost housing,” replied the local government minister.