Financial woes: JI wants federal govt to allocate Rs200b for Karachi

The party's Karachi chief feels the amount is needed to solve problems such as water shortage.

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman feels that a separate budget package should be announced by the federal government to address issues such as water shortage, transport, education and health in the city.

He was addressing a post-budget press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq on Monday. "Sindh government should allocate Rs100 billion for the issues of Karachi while the federal [government] should allocate Rs200 billion in the upcoming fiscal year 2016-2017 [out of] the proposed Rs500 billion," he explained.

Criticising the government of Sindh, he said that they [Sindh Government] have no vested interest in the development of Karachi. He added that that government is just interested in taking over departments while there has been no development in the city in last eight years.



He was of the view that Karachi has become just piles of garbage.

Talking about the governance of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, he asked why no one asks them that why they have remained unable to resolve the everlasting problems of water for the city in the last three decades.

"The current budget has nothing new [except] some change of numbers from one project to another," said the JI Karachi chief, adding that a majority of the projects were not completed on time while a lot of other allocations were not utilised.

Talking about the ongoing mass transit projects of Green and Orange Lines, he said that all such projects cannot even lessen 15% of the traffic burden.

He stated that the mass transit project presented by former city mayor Niamatullah Khan was feasible and useful for the people of Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2016.