Sindh to bear KCR’s operational cost

Officials tell Senate panel rehabilitation of project’s victims provincial govt’s responsibility

ISLAMABAD:

 

Pakistan Railways officials on Thursday made it clear that the Sindh government would bear the operational cost of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR).

They added that as far as land was concerned, there would be an undertaking between the provincial government and the Railways department.

They said this during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Railways presided over by its chairman, Senator Muhammad Qasim.

The Railways officials said the rehabilitation of KCR victims was the responsibility of the provincial government.

Committee member Senator Shahadat Hussain asked for a report to be prepared by the railways officials on the matter.

Senator Mirza Muhammad Afridi, also a member, inquired whether or not the Railways officials had submitted a report on the land.

The officials said they must discuss the issue with the provincial government.
Hussain pointed out that the Supreme Court ordered the resettlement of the victims of the KCR.

He sought updates on the matter.

The chairman pointed out that Hussain had remained the prosecutor general of Sindh, so he had knowledge of the city.

“We will give our stance on behalf of the Railways, but we can also get an idea of Sindh’s stance through Shahadat Hussain,” he added.

Khan Badshah told the committee that many societies, including Hazara and Machar colonies, had been demolished.

“Try to find a solution to it so that we can build houses for children,” he added.
“If there is a future meeting, hold it in Karachi. There are many problems surfacing from the city,” he continued.

Afridi told the meeting that people are facing problems with pensions.

The officials told him that the only body of the federation which was handing over pensions was the Railways.

Currently, pensions stood at Rs40 billion while they would reach Rs50 billion next year, they added.

The Railways department faced liabilities of over Rs10 billion, they continued.
The Senate panel was told that currently, there were 25,000 pensioners and their numbers were ever-increasing.

Discussing the issue of pensions, the committee expressed its concern over the ever-increasing percentage of dependents on the department's budget.

The committee later ratified Senator Manzoor Ahmed and Senator Syed Muhammad Ali Shah Jamot as members of the Railway Advisory Committee in Quetta and Karachi, respectively.

(With input from APP)