An eight-member committee comprising representatives of the federal and Sindh governments as well as an official of the Pakistan army has been finalised to plan, supervise, and ensure implementation of the massive Rs1.1tn Karachi package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan, it emerged on Sunday.
The provincial co-ordination and implementation committee (PCIC) would be headed by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah as per announcement made by the prime minister during his recent visit to the metropolis.
The members of the committee had been finalised with the consent of both the federal and provincial governments, and a notification in this regard is “expected very soon”, a source has revealed.
“The chief minister will head the body as decided in the meeting chaired by the prime minister when he visited Karachi,” the senior source said. “The federal planning secretary will represent the federal government.
“Other members of the committee will include a brigadier of the V Corps [of the army], a senior officer of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the chairman of the Sindh planning and development board, the Sindh local government secretary, the Karachi commissioner, and the administrator of the metropolis.”
The official said that the committee could make anyone part of the PCIC if it considered necessary.
On September 5, Prime Minister Khan announced the ambitious Rs1.1tn package for the development of the country’s financial capital and set up the PCIC to bring all “stakeholders and authorities” together to make key decisions, remove hurdles and ensure their implementation.
The announcement of the package triggered a debate from both the Centre and the province, with ministers from both the sides claiming the other was contributing a major share.
However, Federal Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar, while trying to end the ongoing blame game, had recently stressed the need for moving forward and starting work on the plan.
Then came the thought from President Dr Arif Alvi who “requested” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Sindh to “maintain the co-operative atmosphere” for at least next three years, which would see the spending of the funds for development in Karachi.
The finalisation of the members of the key committee is seen as a step in that direction.
The prime minister’s package, titled the “Karachi Transformation Plan”, consists of Rs92bn for water supply projects, Rs267bn for solid waste management, storm-water drains clearance and resettlement projects, Rs141bn for a sewage treatment plan, Rs41bn for road projects, and Rs572bn for mass transit, rail and road transport projects.
“Once the committee is notified, the chief minister will call its first meeting,” said the official.
“The members of the committee are core part of its formation, though officials and experts can be called at any meeting for their advice, suggestion or presentation on different projects.”
He said that the Rs1.1tn fund for Karachi’s development would also be spent on ongoing projects, and new schemes are also planned to be announced soon, including those with short- and medium-term deadlines, but emphasised that none of the schemes would take more than three years to complete.
Prime Minister Imran Khan
