Sindh government to allot land for renewable power plants

5,801 acres of land will be allotted to 10 private companies on a 30-year lease

KARACHI: The Sindh government approved the allotment of 5,801 acres of land for power projects in the province, as well as gave the approval for setting up special courts, to deal with matters related to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Land for power projects

The cabinet approved the allotment of 5,801 acres of land in Thatta, Dadu and Jamshoro for solar and wind power projects.

The meeting was informed that land is to be allotted to 10 private companies, including the National Transmission and Dispatch Company, on a 30-year lease, for installing renewable energy plants and a grid station, which will eventually generate Rs9.13 billion for the government.

Besides renewable energy plants, the companies may use the land for other power projects, provided that they fulfill government requirements and pay the lease money.

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A member of the Board of Revenue (BOR) informed the meeting that the land will be allotted as per the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

SBCA courts

The participants of the meeting also approved the establishment of courts by the local government to deal with matters related to SBCA. The courts will be set up under the SBCA Ordinance, 1979.

The cabinet was told that SBCA has been carrying out anti-encroachment drives, removing four to five illegal structures daily and FIRs of the cases are registered at SBCA police station. However, these are disposed of by the judicial magistrate, therefore there is a need for the establishment of special SBCA courts.

The cabinet approved the establishment of the courts and directed the local government department to start setting up the courts where necessary.

Sir Cowasjee Institute

A draft bill for the establishment of  Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences was also approved during the meeting.

Briefing the meeting, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said that the institute, once established, will be given a degree-awarding status. The health secretary will be appointed as the chairperson of the institute and the chairperson of the Sindh Mental Health Authority will be appointed as its vice-chairperson, she said.

Recruitments in Sindh HEC

The provincial cabinet approved amendments in the Sindh Higher Education Commission Employees (Recruitment) Rules, 2014, allowing the appointment of civil servants on various posts in the department, besides educationists.

Moreover, the cabinet members noted that on the one hand universities, under the control of the provincial government, are making hue and cry over the shortage of funds and on the other, they are continuously recruiting staff.  They issued directives for the varsities to restrain from making further recruitments until their financial issues are resolved, however, adding that they may appoint necessary staff with the approval of the government.

Restructuring of administrative depts

It was decided during the meeting that the Directorate of Sindh Archives will be transferred from the Information Department to the Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Department.

The cabinet was apprised that in 1976, education and the archives were managed by the Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Department, and at present, the functioning of the Sindh Archives is quite similar to that of the culture department. Hence, the transfer was agreed upon.

The cabinet was briefed that the Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Department would be able to preserve old scripts and documents using Sindh Archives lab, after the transfer.

Discrepancies in FBR, BOR tables

Citing discrepancies in the Sindh BOR’s table and Federal Board of Revenue’s valuation table of urban immovable properties in Sukkur, Karachi and Hyderabad, the cabinet constituted a three-member committee directing it to prepare a report regarding the matter and submit it at the next meeting. The committee comprises the provincial revenue minister, the energy minister and the local government minister.

Sindh Bank

In the course of the meeting, Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi told the cabinet that the Sindh Bank is facing a capital shortfall.

The cabinet, keeping in view the situation, decided to inject Rs14.7 billion in the bank, of which the government has deposited Rs9.7 billion so far. The participants of the meeting also agreed to release funds amounting to Rs2 billion for the bank.

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Additionally, the cabinet allowed for the bank to grant loans to its employees and approved a proposal stating that accounts of all the provincial government departments, the government’s subordinate organisations and government institutions be maintained by the Sindh Bank.

Loan agreements

Separately, at another meeting, the Sindh government signed loan agreements worth $1.98 million with the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday. The loans are to be granted for three projects including Competitive and Livable City of Karachi (CLICK), to be completed at a cost of $24 million, Karachi Water & Sewerage Services Improvement Programme (KWSSIP), worth $1.6 billion and Karachi Mobility Project (Yellow Line BRTS), the estimated cost of which is $380 million.

On behalf of the Sindh government, Sindh Local Government Secretary Roshan Shaikh signed the loan agreement for CLICK and KWSSIP and Sindh Transport Secretary Ghulam Abbas signed the agreement for the Yellow Line project.

Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar, WB Country Director Illangovan, EAD Secretary Noor Muhammad and KPK sports secretary were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2019.