Six years on, Sindh planning body still without legal cover

PAC orders law's approval within two months, seeks district master plans

KARACHI:

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly on Thursday revealed that the Sindh Master Plan Authority (SMPA) has been operating for six years without a formal law or governing body, raising serious concerns over urban and regional planning in the province.

The disclosure came during a meeting chaired by PAC Chairman Nisar Khuhro, where audit paras related to the SMPA, WASA and the Project Director (PD) Local Government Hyderabad were reviewed. The session was attended by committee members Taha Ahmed and Qasim Soomro, Local Government Secretary Waseem Shamshad, and other officials.

Officials informed the PAC that the SMPA was established in 2020 but its governing act has yet to be enacted. In the absence of legislation, the authority continues to function under town planning regulations.

Questioning the authority's performance, Khuhro asked what concrete planning had been carried out for urban and rural areas since its inception. A senior official admitted that the Sindh Spatial Development Plan (SDP) 2020, though notified, was not being implemented.

The local government secretary told the committee that the authority had been separated from the Sindh Building Control Authority on court orders and that the draft law was in its final stages. He said it would soon be presented before the provincial cabinet for approval.

Expressing dissatisfaction, the PAC directed the SMPA to submit master plans for all districts of Sindh and instructed that the law be approved by the cabinet and provincial assembly within two months. It added that a governing body should be constituted once the act is passed.

The committee also called for comprehensive surveys of all cities and inclusion of rural and peri-urban areas in city surveys to ensure better planning and public benefit. Officials said the SMPA is currently working in 14 districts.

Meanwhile, the PAC expressed anger over stagnant sewage water at Hyderabad's Haider Chowk, with Khuhro questioning the WASA chief executive officer, who appeared unaware of the issue. The committee ordered immediate drainage of the sewage and improvement in performance.

Separately, the PAC directed an inspection into contracts worth Rs841 million awarded by the PD Local Government Hyderabad in Tharparkar without formal agreements, terming the matter serious.