From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said that the provincial government had released Rs463 million to meet emergency requirements such as cleaning of storm-water drains to prevent flooding during the monsoon season.
In a statement issued from the CM House, the chief minister said that the provincial government released Rs200 million on July 17 as a special grant-in-aid for critical emergency actions. The purpose of the sum is to mitigate monsoon risk under the Solid Waste Emergency & Efficiency Programme (SWEEP) throughout Karachi, and it is placed at the disposal of secretary local government, he added. CM Murad said that the provincial government also released Rs229 million on July 2 for cleaning of nullahs and related monsoon expenditures in different districts of the province.
“Out of the total Rs229 million funds, Rs30 million were given to Karachi commissioner for rain emergency measures,” he said, adding that Rs70 million were assigned to the Hyderabad commissioner, Rs 20 million to Larkana commissioner, Rs31 million to Mirpurkhas commissioner, Rs38 million to Shaheed Benazirabad commissioner, Rs40 million to Sukkur commissioner and Rs4 million for cleanliness/de-silting of Saddi Town/ Mehran drain. He further said that the provincial government is releasing another Rs90 million to Karachi commissioner for rain emergency-related works.
The chief minister said that the impression being given by some persons that the funds had not been released is wrong and unfounded. “We have been investing in the city for rain emergencies, cleaning of drains, and other such works,” he said, adding that the flooded drains would be lined, their culverts would be improved, and all choking points and historical bottlenecks would be repaired under World Bank (WB) projects for the smooth flow of rainwater.
Agencies add: According to details, Rs200 million funds had been released by the provincial government for the Solid Waste Emergency and Efficiency Project (SWEEP) on July 26. The spokesperson said the funds have been utilized for rain emergency purposes and cleaning of Karachi’s stormwater drains. While giving details of funds, CM Murad, in a statement, said that the Sindh government on July 2 had released Rs229 million funds to divisional commissioners.
