Karachi Transformation Plan

Not too long ago, in September 2020 to be exact, the PTI-led federal government and the PPP’s Sindh government had pledged to collaborate with each other for the sake of the development of Karachi. The furious monsoon rains in July-August, which killed at least 47 people in the city, besides devastating the civic infrastructure, led to the two political rivals – and quite bitter at that – to join hands to rid Karachi of its perennial problems. Thus came the “historic” Rs1.1 trillion Karachi Transformation Plan (KTP) aimed at ridding the country’s financial capital of six major municipal and infrastructure issues it has been suffering from for years and years. Unveiling the plan at a press conference in Karachi, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the two governments had decided to deal with Karachi's problems "together", adding that the plan would be implemented through a Provincial Coordination Implementation Committee to be led by the Sindh Chief Minister.

However, less than three months down the line, the “togetherness” that the two sides had pledged and the “coordination” that they had planned for the sake of what is now rightly called an “orphan city” appear to have taken over by political expediencies. At the ground-breaking of the Rs2.26 billion BRT Common Corridor in Karachi last week, Federal Min­i­ster for Planning, Develop­ment, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said the provincial government should utilise Rs700 billion that had been allocated in its budget for the projects in Karachi. The statement appears to cater to any demand for funds by the provincial government concerning any KTP project. In a counter-statement, Sindh CM’s spokesperson Murtaza Wahab mentioned certain projects “being carried out from provincial resources”, trying to convey that the credits for these projects goes to nobody else than the ruling party in Sindh.

And while it is good to know that more than 100 projects have been planned under the KTP – about which the PM was informed at a recent meeting – it is extremely important for the Sindh government and the Centre to jointly focus on about half a dozen projects in Karachi that had been launched between four and ten years ago, thereby keeping the promise of collaboration and coordination they made to the people of Karachi in the wake the past monsoon fury. First and foremost of these is the Green Line bus project which had to complete before the general election in 2018 and which is now scheduled to be inaugurated in “the middle of 2021”. Then comes the K-IV water supply project that was envisaged in 2007 and approved for construction in 2011. However, this important project is yet to see the light of the day. Work on Karachi Circular Railways still continues – to the annoyance of the Supreme Court which wants the project to complete within two months. While the cleaning of stormwater drains has begun, there is no news on any concrete plans for the relocation of those who would be displaced in the wake of the removal of encroachments around the drains. And the disposal of waste remains an issue, with the city dotted with mounds of filth and dirt.

The importance of Karachi for the country cannot be over-emphasised. The two parties will have to rise above their political interests and complement each other’s efforts, rather than going their separate ways, to rid Karachiites of their long persisting woes. If Karachi is to be prevented from a total collapse, a strong PPP-PTI partnership is a must.