Master Plan to be presented in City Council soon: Kamal
By Fasahat Mohiuddin
KARACHI: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has said the City Master Plan 2020 will be presented in the city council for the first time for approval very soon. In this plan, future residential needs have been inducted in the City Master Plan, Mustafa said. He said after 20 years low income-housing schemes had been started by the government where people would be provided low cost houses which will be completed in the shortest period of time. The residential plots in thousands have been marked in Taiser Town, he said, while talking to the Mortgage Housing Corporation of Canada. The representatives of the Canadian firm said they were deeply interested in launching a housing scheme in Karachi and in this regard model houses would also be developed. They said if the people liked those model houses then they would be built for the citizens.
Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz are taking keen interest in completion of Master Plan 2020 for Karachi. The city government sources told The News that day-to-day progress report was sent every fortnight to these two executives of the country and it is hoped that Master Plan will be made public hopefully by November this year. Sources said very soon a full presentation would be given by the consultant technical committees to 12 technical committees of various agencies in the city. This is being done with the objective that these stakeholders should go through this Master Plan and invite proposals and objections so that in future they could own this master plan. Later, the sources said seminars will be held and media and public will be taken into confidence so that they also could own this document.
Replying to a question, source said that total cost of the project was worth Rs57 million and the city Nazim was very closely monitoring this project. This Master Plan will give the directions for the implementation for any project as it is usual in Karachi plans are made but never materialized or get implemented. Sources said so far the consultant consortium of three firms has been paid 7 to 8 per cent money. The consortium included ECIL, PADCO and another is a chartered accountants’ firm. The Master Plan is likely to be prepared by November this year for which various agencies, federal and provincial have provided maps.
About 30 per cent land use survey has been completed, based on a map prepared by the local consultant using Satellite imagery. The Managing Director of the Sui Southern Gas company (SSGC) has been contacted for a digital map of his company. The city Nazim said as they have the facility of digital and graphic maps and drawing, he has also agreed to help CDGK in this connection. Kamal says that once the city government gets the maps underground than all these lines would be taken at one side of the road so that every day digging of roads could be stopped once for all. The relocation of utility lines is continuing in the city at various mega city projects.
The News carried out a brief survey to find out the history of Master Plan 2020, which was undertaken by the CDGK, as one of the components of Tameer-e-Karachi programme (TKP) package. The CDGK had invited expression of interest (EOI) on November 11, 2003 and 12 firms consortium showed their interest, which were subsequently evaluated by an evaluation committee for pre-qualification. According to official sources four firms/consortium pre-qualified and finally an agreement was signed on August 8 last year with the firm that had given the lowest bid. The Socio-Economic Survey (SES) and land use survey (LUS) questionnaire were designed and finalized. The SES for 178 Union councils (UCs) at Karachi level has so far been completed, analyzed, tabulated, and reports on socio-economic condition of each UC completed and submitted by the consultant to MPGO on January 26.
Sources said report is based on primary data collected from sampled population living in the 18 towns of Karachi. The dates provide vital information at Union Council and town levels on the key socio-economic sectors, covering provision of basic civic facilities, education, health, recreation facilities, living style of people, economic condition, social problems, etc. Evaluation of previous Master Plan has been completed in order to learn from previous experience. Another big task vital for the city development is the GIS-Digital base map. The project for the establishment of geographical information system is being carried out as one of the components of TKP package and by the same process EOI has been invited and later a consultant will be awarded the job.
Source: The News
Date:8/9/2006
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