Water schemes for Hyderabad ignored

HYDRABAD:

The Sindh government's budget for fiscal 2022-23 has earmarked billions of rupees for construction and reconditioning of roads in Hyderabad, but the water supply, drainage and beautification schemes have apparently been ignored.

The city's requirement for filtered drinking water has reached over 100 million gallons per day. However the existing water filtration plants are operating at half of that capacity. The Annual Development Plan has ignored the city's water needs.

This is despite that acknowledging the rising water demand the provincial government had announced in its 2017-18 budget, a Rs5.5 billion project for construction of a new water filtration plant, equipped with 100 MGD capacity. That project has apparently been shelved and as of now, no physical progress has been witnessed so far.

The only water related scheme for Hyderabad will be executed by Public Health Engineering and Rural Development Department in rural parts of Hyderabad. But the department will be given a meagre amount of Rs15.82 million for its Rs134.654 million scheme for rehabilitation of non-functional schemes.

The works and services department will execute dozens of project for construction and, mainly, repair of the roads. One of the largest sanctions with slightly over Rs1 billion has been kept for construction of Tando Jam Bypass on Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas road.

A sum of Rs577 million has been earmarked for the construction and Rs434.437 million for the land acquisition this year. The road in question was built by a South Korean company under the public private partnership model a decade ago but its components like the bypass in question were not completed. The inordinate delay has exponentially added to the cost.

The government also plans to release Rs349.235 million for the revised scheme of widening of Hyderabad Tando Muhammad Khan road worth 4.54 billion. A project for improvement of road in a rural part of Hyderabad, approved almost 10 years ago, will receive Rs114.792 million this fiscal.

Landfill site

As scores of open plots in Hyderabad have been turned into garbage dumping and burning spots, the Sindh government is arguably delaying construction of the 200 acres landfill site for Hyderabad along M9 motorway. The project was approved in February, 2017, and the Supreme Court's water commission in 2018 ordered its urgent completion. The authorities will be utilizing only Rs37.5 million up to June 2022 while less than one fourth of the total cost, Rs104 million, will be released this year. The total cost is Rs462 million.

Health

The project for expansion and rehabilitation of Sir CJ Institute of Psychiatry Hyderabad, which started in 2012, is likely to complete this year if the earmarked sum of Rs22.72 million is released. The authorities have so far utilized Rs269.483 million over the health facility where several wards require rehabilitation including the drug addicts' ward.

The budget has also set aside Rs50 million each for the government taluka hospitals in Latifabad and Qasimabad besides Rs81.43 million for construction of academic and auditorium blocks at Sindh Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. However, all the three projects are unapproved. Another unapproved project concerns establishment of 200 bedded Infectious Diseases Hospital at the cost of Rs2 billion. The project will receive Rs325 million in the upcoming fiscal subject to approval.

Transport

A city inhabited by around 2.5 million people has only one authorized bus terminal which too is in shambles besides being under encroachment. The budget, however, has proposed a Rs100 million scheme for construction of a new bus terminal but subject to the government's approval. The government also intends to release funds for establishment of District Regional Transport Authority's office in Hyderabad.

Social Welfare

The government plans to provide Rs20.5 million for establishment of a rehabilitation center for the senior citizens and Rs19.15 million for the shelter home of street children. The former will cost Rs77.4 million and the latter Rs77 million.

Sports

The dilapidated Sports Complex Qasimabad, whose entrance is surrounded by a garbage dumping and burning site, will receive two separate funds of Rs10 million and Rs34 million for the upgrades. Likewise, for the rehabilitation of Niaz Cricket Stadium Rs5 million will be released out of the Rs20 million unapproved project.

The government has also planned to release Rs10 million for Rs40 million project of construction of a sports complex at Government College University Kali Mori and Rs6.25 million for Rs25 million indoor sports hall at Government Girls College Qasimabad. A sum of Rs50 million will be released for installation of the flood lights with stand by generator and external works at the football stadium at the semi private Public School, Hyderabad. For building synthetic hockey turf at Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam, the budget has earmarked Rs21.25 million.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2022.