Karachi:
The controversy about the abrupt suspension of the Green Line project deepened even more as the federal government distanced itself from responsibility, saying: “The matter is between the mayor of Karachi and the contractor.”
Clarifying, the federal government spokesman, Barríster Raja Ansari, said that the problem arose from the objections raised by the mayor of Karachi on the contractor’s non -Object certificate (NO).
He pointed out that the center remained committed to providing transport facilities to the people of Karachi and had already published funds for the project.
Federal and Sindh governments are in contact with respect to the billionaire project, Ansari said, and added coordination with the local government and the mayor of Karachi does not fall in the center.
He said: “The federal government, in cooperation with the government of Sindh, had accelerated the work in the extension of the green line,” added: “The construction of Numaish’s fabric to Jama was progressing well.”
The spokesman added that he personally inspected the project a few days ago and asked the mayor to clarify the nature of his objections.
The mayor of Karachi stops the RS30B Green Line project
Earleir this week, which works on the phase II corridor project of Green Line, which extended from Guru to send to the Municipal Park, stopped due to a dispute between the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Pakistan Limited Infrastructure Development Company (PIDCL), a federal government entity.
The disagreement led the mayor of Karachi Murtaza Wahab to order the suspension of the ongoing development work, citing procedure violations.
KMC stopped the project funded by the Federal Government, valued at RS30 billion, claiming that Pidcl had not obtained a certificate of non -objection (NOC) from the municipal authorities before starting the work.
The project, a key infrastructure initiative under the Karachi Development Plan of the Federal Government, is considered critical to relieve urban mobility in the city.
However, PIDCL officials strongly challenged KMC’s action, stating that the required NOC had already been insured before the start of the project. They argued that stopping a project sanctioned by the federal government without prior written warning and based on verbal orders was unacceptable and counterproductive.
According to Pidcl, if the mayor or KMC had any reservation, they should have formally communicated through a letter requesting the production of the NOC, which the agency would have easily provided.
Pidcl also claimed to be in possession of a NOC issued on October 12, 2017, with the signing of the Superintendent Engineer of the KMC Department of Engineering (I & CC). The agency expressed a strong dissatisfaction with the suspension of work.
Meanwhile, KMC officials argued that a NOC valid for the second phase of the Green Line project had not been issued, and the decision to stop the construction was taken on the explicit instructions of Mayor Murtaza Wahab.
According to the reports, the matter has intensified to a point where a meeting is expected between Mayor Wahab and the senior PLACL officials, including the CEO Waseem Bajwa and general manager Shafi Chhachhar, to resolve the impasse.
After the intervention of KMC, the site contractor has stopped operating and withdrew personnel and equipment until new notice.
