Hyderabad:
The Sindh government will inject more than RS20 billion into a variety of development schemes in Hyderabad in fiscal year 2025-26. However, some of the most necessary development projects related to water filtration plants, wastewater treatment plants and public parks do not find a mention in the public sector development program (PSDP).
The pollution of the Indo River and its channels in Hyderabad will continue incessantly in the coming years because the government seems less annoying to treat municipal, commercial and industrial wastewater, released in the river roads.
In addition, the city’s water needs have increased the collector due to the increase in the population, but only small capacity water filtration of around six million gallons per day are being built instead of a central plant with greater capacity.
Toxic industrial wastewater from the Hyderab site area are discharged on the Phuleli channel, which is a source of water to drink and irrigation for the districts of Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan and Badin.
The industrialists of the area are being insured for some years that the provincial government will build for them an combined effluent treatment plant.
The budget, however, has maintained the CEPT status for the Hyderabad site as not approved with a disbursement of RS1 billion and zero assignments for this year.
In addition, there are also reflexes of schemes, which have witnessed a delay of years in the release of the funds allocated, consequently delaying the completion of the projects and ending up increasing the costs. There are other projects that, although they seem less significant, but have secured mass funds.
Two years ago, in 2023, the Government had approved the installation of three traffic signals in Hyderabad with the expense of RS233.486 million. An insignificant sum of RS11.674 million was published in the outgoing financial year, while next year RS30 million more will be provided, totaling 18% of the total allocation.
This shows abundantly how authorities lose years to complete some of the vital projects for the city, which should be completed in a few months in view of unbridled traffic congestion problems.
Phase III of the Qasimabad Greater drainage scheme began in 2017 with a revised budget of RS3.1 billion. This project is likely to be completed in June 2026 with the launch of the remaining total amount of RS230 million.
Another project approved in 2017 refers to the construction of the road, the retention wall, the drainage and the prestressed bridge on the right side of the old PHuleli channel, which extends from Preetabad to the Darya Khan pumping station.
A revised sum of RS4,923 billion will be spent on the project whose completion will be 85% in June 2026, even after eight years. The Provincial Government had approved the construction of a sanitary landfill for Hyderabad in February 2017. Of the estimated total cost of RS461.9 million, it will only obtain RS25 million in 2025-26.
The construction of a Jam Tando Jam Tando road of 9.66 kilometers in Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas Road was also approved in May 2017, with a disbursement of more than RS2 billion. With the allocation of RS98.5 million funds for the next fiscal year, 90% of the total budget for the derivation road will be published in June 2026.
The authorities have also planned to recondition and build two of some most important roads in Hyderabad. One of them extends from the high passage of Shahbaz in Thandi Sarak to the underground passage of Latifabad Unit 7 and the other from the network of the network in Qasimabad to the old National Highway.
However, surprisingly, however, a colossal sum of RS1,038 billion has been proposed in the budget for the two roads whose combined length is around 2 kms. The Government will release RS519.3 million for the project in the next budget year.
The extension and continuous reconditioning of Autobahn, the longest commercial highway in the city, has already taken too long to dismay the merchants and travelers.
The RS3.2 billion project, which also includes the construction of a new drainage system under the road, will receive 94% of the total sanctioned funds. The scheme was approved in October 2022, and was reviewed on May 29, 2023.
In the Higher Education sector, the College Government University will receive RS119.7 million to complete the construction of the limit wall at the total cost of RS2 billion, while it will be given to the Varsity RS17.8 million update.
