Sindh CM, railways minister agree to revive KCR at any cost

Rasheed urges CM to allocate Rs40b for the restoration, says the Centre will spend Rs10b on it

KARACHI: The Sindh government and federal railways ministry have agreed to finalise the framework agreement to be signed by the Centre and the National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC) of China within a month, so that the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) can be revived.

The decision was taken in a meeting between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Federal Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed at the CM House on Wednesday.

The chief minister and the railway minister agreed to revive the KCR at any cost by taking effective measures. During the discussion, though, it was established that the project would take some time to be reinstated, since there were 24 railway crossings in the Right of Way of the KCR and their construction would be time-consuming.

Rasheed urged the chief minister to allocate a budget of Rs40 billion for the restoration work, to which Shah agreed. The CM, however, said that before the said funds could be released, a detailed plan to revamp the project would have to be chalked out.

The railways minister said that the federal government would spend Rs10 billion on the project, while the Sindh government will have to pay an equal amount. The CM agreed, but pointed out that the government would have to arrange for the rehabilitation of those affected by the project by giving them compensation.

Planning and Development Board chairman Mohammad Waseem apprised the meeting that over 4,600 people will be affected by the revival of the KCR, adding that the provincial government is working to carve out a plan for their settlement.

The issue of clearing the remaining five kilometres of encroachment was also among the agenda of the meeting, with Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani stating that he was ready to remove the encroachments if the railways police and railways divisional superintendent cooperated. Rasheed assured him of their support.

It was also decided in the meeting to delineate the route for KCR so that the installation of fences along the route could be initiated at the earliest.

The CM and the federal railway minister agreed to constitute a committee for preparing and submitting a proposal to begin work on KCR, by the time the Chinese authorities would approve a financial mechanism for the project.

Later, addressing a press conference, he said that encroachments would be removed from the KCR's track within 30 days, in compliance with the court's orders, adding that decisions regarding rehabilitating the displaced persons would be discussed and finalised at the next meeting with the Sindh government representatives. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2020.