CM Murad approves Rs1.5b for road repairs

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, presiding over a meeting on Wednesday, assessed the damage caused to city roads by the 2024 rainfall. He approved Rs1.5 billion for repairs and directed the Local Government Department to initiate an inquiry into roads constructed or repaired after 2022 that have since been washed away.

"It is unacceptable for the quality of work to fall short of standards, and strict action must be taken against those responsible," the chief minister said and emphasised the need for accountability in the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure.

The meeting held at the CM House was attended by Planning and Development (P&D) Minister Nasir Shah, Local Govt Minister Saeed Ghani, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, P&D Chairman Najam Shah, LG Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah, KMC Secretary Afzal Zaidi and Special Secretary Finance Asghar Memon.

The CM directed Saeed Ghani to initiate an inquiry into the roads constructed or repaired after 2022 that have since been damaged. "This shows that the quality of the work was not maintained, therefore they must be brought to book," he said.

Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab told the CM that an area of 17.86 million square-feet of roads had been damaged during the rainfall of 2024. District Central has 909,500 sq-ft of damaged roads, East 795,000 sq-ft, Central 832,000 sq-ft, West 13,750,000 sq-ft, Korangi 5,555,000 sq-ft, Malir 625,000 sq-ft. Moreover 395,000 sq-ft area of flyovers and bridges was damaged in the rain.

He told the CM that 120 roads, 10 flyovers and underpasses of the city needed patchwork, including 20 roads in district South, 22 in East, seven in Central, 38 in West, 11 in Korangi, and 12 in Malir.Wahab added that around Rs1.5 billion were required to repair and reconstruct the damaged roads, bridges and flyovers which the CM approved then and there with the directives to carry out quality work.