KCR will run, come what may

Federal govt will coordinate with Sindh for progress of province

KARACHI: The President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi declared that encroachment along the tracks of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) would be removed "come what may."  Addressing a press conference at the Governor House on Tuesday, he said, "We have to revive the circular railway in the city, but encroachments on its tracks pose great hurdles in this project. We will demolish all the structures and later alternative settlements will be made for the victims," he said.

President Alvi, who was flanked by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, referred to his meetings with Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar and governor on revival of KCR and said, "First of all, we have to identify how much area is under illegal occupation."

Talking to the media about the city problems, President Alvi said the water crisis and transportation issues were the major issues that need to be resolved as soon as possible. "Some issues are linked to federal government, but we will develop a strong coordination with the provincial government when it comes to development and progress of the province," he said.

Earlier, the President chaired the first meeting of "Karachi Transformation Committee (KTC)", a body formed by federal government for the developments in Karachi city.  Responding to Sindh government's concern over the committee, the President said, "We will resolve all of Sindh government's grievances and will ensure its representation in this committee."

According to President Alvi, after the 18th Amendment, provincial governments are empowered to make their decisions and he [President] and federal government will not overstep their authority to interfere in its affairs. "President has no more executive role in the Constitution and I will not go beyond the powers bestowed on me," he said adding that the governor has held a meeting with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Murtaza Wahab and discussed the various issues faced by Karachiites.

The President said that the federal government was sincere in dealing with Karachi's civic and other issues and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government wants good relations and partnerships with Sindh's ruling party, PPP. "Murad Ali Shah has also been cooperative and I will request him to launch a regulatory authority in the province."



The President also thanked Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid for launching the local train, Karachi Dhabeji, and suggested him to revive the past glory of goods trains. When asked about the 100 days' performance of PTI, President Alvi said, "We have inherited all these problems. The rate of US dollar was at Rs128 when PTI came into power. No doubt the poor are suffering because of inflation, but it has not emerged only in our tenure."

He rebutted the media reports about whether PTI government had given NRO to its leaders and would not take action against those found involved in corruption and said, "We still believe that the action would be taken across the board and accountability processes will be accelerated without any prejudice," he said in conclusion.

KTC meeting

An introductory meeting of KTC was presided over by the President and attended by Sindh Governor, Federal Minister for Water Resources, Mayor Karachi, Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited (KIDCL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other members of the committee attended the meeting.

The meeting reviewed in detail the aims and objectives of KTC with special reference to federal funded projects. KIDCL CEO Saleh Farooqi shared vision 2047 for Karachi that aims to develop comprehensive master infra-structure plan for the city that ensures clean drinking water, modern health techniques, improved education facilities and viable transport structure.

President Alvi stressed upon the committee to ensure proper coordination with the provincial government for smooth executions of proposed development plans and strategies.

Ismail observed that the terms of reference of KTC had been kept flexible to ensure that the deliberations of all the stake holders could be taken into consideration. He further said that additional members would be co-opted with respect to their thematic competence. "Project wise responsibilities would be awarded to different thematic groups to achieve the desirable results," he added. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2018.