KARACHI      -   Taking notice of growing filth and garbage in the city, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) to cancel the contract of the private firms engaged for cleaning and lifting garbage in the city and also urged local government department to remove reluctant, inefficient and lethargic municipal commissioners from the DMC.

“This is unacceptable and I can’t tolerate this reluctance and inefficiency on the part of concerned officers,” said the CM.

Presiding over a specially convened meeting to  discuss and decide cleaning issues in the city on Thursday, Murad said that the roads though most of them had been reconstructed recently give dirty look because they remained unclean or cleaned partially.

The meeting was attended by Minister Local Government Saeed Ghani, Advisor to CM Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahalwani, Secretary LG Khalid Hyder Shah, MD SSWMB Dr Attur Das, all the six deputy commissioners of the city.

“Our DMCs officers have also failed to do their work. Wherever I go I see garbage lying on the roads and no concerned officer, including MCs and DCS bothers to take action,” he said and added “He has also noticed that some standing trees have been chopped at Clifton bridge, the area of District South. If anybody dares to cut trees he must be booked – I want see them behind the bars.”

The CM directed all the DCs to protect tree in their areas and plant as much tree as they can. Murad told MD SSWMB that he was not happy with the performance of the firms engaged for cleanliness of District West. The performance of private company hired to clean District South was also not upto the mark and satisfaction, he said.

He directed Minister Local Minister Saeed Ghani to personally intervene and get the contract of the firms engaged for sweeping, cleaning and lifting of garbage in the city cancelled at the earliest. He also directed the minister to start removing inefficient and lethargic municipal commissioners/officers. ‘We don’t need any officer who was not sincere with his work,” he said.

The CM constituted committees under deputy commissioners to monitor sweeping and cleaning work and lifting of garbage. “I want this must be done at the sub-division level where assistant commissioners be assigned to keep their areas neat and clean,” he said and added the municipal commissioners of DMCs would be responsible to their deputy commissioner as far as the cleanliness work is concerned.

Murad also directed commissioner Karachi to personally watch and every move in respect of cleaning of the city and start lifting backlog of the garbage. “I would start surprise visits of the city from the beginning of the next week and would take strict action if any negligence is found,” he warned.

The CM also directed commissioner Karachi, deputy commissioners and other local bodies officers to start tree plantation in their areas. “The plantation of a tree is not enough but the planted sapling must be protected and grown with proper care,” he said and added Karachi need vast tree plantation and greenery and every one of us have to play our role. 

It was pointed out in the meeting that District Central was generating 2200 tons of garbage, of which hardly 1600 tons were transported to landfill sites. Similarly, District West generates 2500 tons of garbage and hardly 1000 tons are lifted. At this the chief minister expressed his serious displeasures and directed concerned DCs to start lifting of garbage as special assignments and procure services of some dumpers for removing the backlog. 

He passed directives to the DCs to keep him posting reports of the DMCs MCs who fail to keep their districts properly neat and clean.

Murad also ordered repair and panting of footpaths of newly constructed roads and beautification of important places. Commissioner Karachi would personally monitor beautification works. 

BRT

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah taking a policy has decision has directed construction of BRT Green Line from Numaish to Municipal Park at-grade, otherwise connectivity of other BRT lines coming from different routes would be difficult to merge.

He took this decision on Thursday while presiding over a meeting about Karachi Mass Transit and BRT project here at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Minister Local Government Saeed Ghani, Minister Transport Awais Shah, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Chairperson P&D Nahid Shah, Secretary Local Govt Khalid Hyder Shah, Secretary Transport Abbas Detho, Consultants and other concerned officers.

Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah told the meeting that the federal government has given two options to the provincial government for construction of BRT Green Line infrastructure from Numaish to Municipal Park either at-grade or underground. “The chief minister has to decide whether the project be made underground or at-grade,” he said.

The chief minister said that the cost of the project would increase manifold if a tunnel was constructed on M.A Jinnah Road upto Municipal Park. The construction work would also bring business activities going on at the markets operating along the M.A Jinnah Road, he observed and also said that it would also take long time to complete the project. Therefore, construction of two-kilometer tunnel was not feasible. 

Murad said that the portion of the BRT Green Line be constructed at grade so that it could be completed as soon as possible because it has already taken a long time to complete. The consultants told the chief minister that at-grade there would be four-lane track which would reduce to three-lane at some portions. At this Murad urged the consultants to manage these issues through traffic engineering, otherwise this on-going project of Green Line would never see the light of the day.

He said that various other routes of buses such from Lyari, Kiamari, Hawksbay, Fisheries and various others areas to M.A Road would be difficult to connect. “The main issue will be of connectivity of different routes of BRTs in the main junctions, therefore we have to make it at grade,” he added.