[🇵🇰] Sindh Developments

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Source : https://www.PKDefense.com

Sindh digitises all land record, offers online services​

New system will secure land ownership record, prevent manipulation

Our Correspondent
December 16, 2023

KARACHI: The government of Sindh has digitised all land record and maps of all estates of SITE Limited and Sindh Small Industries Corporation all over the province including Karachi, Nooriabad, Hyderabad, Kotri and Sukkur and now all services including no-objection certificates, permissions and transfers will be available online.

Caretaker Minister for Revenue, Industries and Commerce Mohammad Younus Dagha on Friday launched the digitisation and online services project for the Industries Department, called E-services Sindh mobile app, in the presence of industrialists, diplomats and government officials.

Now, applicants will not have to come to government offices or wait for action on their applications indefinitely. The new system fixes time limits on officials for the disposal of applications.

The two departments that have developed the app and are offering their services online are the Board of Revenue and the Industries Department. Dagha called it a historical day for governance in Sindh.

Under E-services, the monitoring system will help in performance accountability of officials and improve the ease of doing business. The system provides for online applications as well as delivery of documents through courier services, eliminating human interaction in the entire process.

Dagha said that Sindh had taken a big leap forward by implementing the modern e-governance system in the Industries Department, which would pave the way for other departments to follow.

E-services will reduce the unnecessary hassle for the applicants taking rounds of government offices for petty works.

Dagha said that the most important features of the system were security of government record, especially the land ownership record, which had become prone to manipulation and tampering.

Now, the record will be available online, bringing transparency and security of record to these organisations.

He said the system would require some time to mature and hoped that the elected government would further strengthen and improve it in the coming months. He disclosed that E-services would also be launched in all offices of the Revenue Department in the coming days.

Trade Development Authority CEO Zubair Motiwala termed it a much-awaited step for making improvement in the investment environment of the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2023.

 

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Nai Gaj Dam Project

The Chairman WAPDA visited Nai Gaj Dam to review construction activities on various sites of the project including main dam, main spillway, dykes and intake structure.

The PD Nai Gaj Aijaz Hussain Memon briefed the Chairman about the progress achieved so far. The Chairman directed the project management to devise and implement a contingency plan to minimize the delays caused by the last year’s flood and other contributing factors. Prior to the 2022-floods, the project was scheduled for completion in 2024.

Nai Gaj Dam is being constructed across River Gaj in District Dadu of Sindh.

It will store 300,000 acres feet of water to irrigate 28,800 acres of land, besides generating 4.2 MW of electricity.

Multi purpose Nai Gaj Dam, being constructed in Dadu, Sindh,

It will store 300,000 acre feet of water to irrigate 28,800 acres of land. In addition, the Project, having a small hydel power station, will also generate 4.2 MW green, clean and affordable electricity..

 

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Sindh provincial government plans to buy hundreds of hybrid buses from China


Sindh provincial government plans to buy hundreds of hybrid buses from China in the next fiscal year, starting on July 1, 2023, according to a senior Sindh minister.

Sindh Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon told Gwadar Pro that the province needed buses to facilitate the people. "We have purchased buses from China in the recent past, and they are very fuel-efficient. We plan to buy more in the coming months," he informed. Memon underlined that the government was committed to resolving the transport issue in Sindh.

"Chinese buses have been beneficial, and we hope to further capitalize on Chinese technology," he remarked. Earlier, the Sindh government allocated PKR 10 billion for the procurement of 500 hybrid buses in the provincial budget for the financial year 2023-24.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, while presenting the provincial budget on Saturday, announced a total allocation of PKR 13.4 billion for the provincial Transport Department. He stated that PKR 6.1 billion has been earmarked for the 'Intra-District Peoples' Bus Service,' and PKR 2 billion for the maintenance of transport infrastructure.

Additionally, the government has set aside PKR 600 million for new routes. Three new routes will be introduced from next year to facilitate employees of the Sindh secretariat.

 

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Dhabeji granted the status of Special Economic Zone​

By Tahir Ali
Jun 29, 2023

ISLAMABAD - To promote the value addition component in exports, generate employment, encourage the import situation, and mobilize foreign exchange for the balance of payments support, Dhabeji Special Economic Zones (DSEZ) in Thatta Sindh is another mega project designed within the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)─ a core component of Belt and Road Initiate (BRI).

In a major development last week, Federal Minister for Board of Investment (BOI) Choudhary Salik Hussain chaired the 8th meeting of the Approvals Committee which approved the establishment of eight SEZs including the DSEZ Thatta.

“Dhabeji Special Economic Zone has been granted SEZ status after much anticipation; DSEZ will pave a new era of industrialization for Karachi and Pakistan; the groundbreaking is to be held in mid-July 2023,” reads an official statement of Sindh Economic Zones Management Company (SEZMC). DSEZ will facilitate the potential investors of China and other countries to either start new enterprises or transfer their facilities to Pakistan.

In 2021, a technical issue emerged regarding the awarding of the contract of Dhabeji Industrial Zone (DIZ) when a petitioner raised questions that the rules of SEZ were not followed during awarding of the contract. SEZMC stated DIZ is not a special economic zone and later will be declared as SEZ. Now, the government has officially declared DIZ as DSEZ.

According to CPEC’s official website, 1530 acres of land have been allocated to establish DSEZ which will be developed in two phases. DSEZ has been proposed to be constructed in two phases comprising 750 acres for Phase I and 780 acres for Phase II.

DSEZ has easy access to Port Qasim, enabling raw material import and finished goods export without incurring major inland transportation costs and saving time. A direct access road (8km) connecting Port Qasim to Dhabeji Zone is being developed.

A dedicated cargo deck connecting the zone with ML-1 from Dhabeji Junction and a jetty connecting Port Qasim alongside the Dhabeji zone from the creek side are envisaged to facilitate export-oriented industries. Karachi Airport (35 Km) via National Highway enables safe travel of foreign workers and management personnel, National Highway enables the transportation of goods to upcountry and Central Asian nations, utilizing the National Trade Corridor.

 

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200 Bed Children Hospital Sukkur Inaugurated.

Children Hospital Sukkur by Sindh Government, which encompasses a wide range of services for pediatric patients including OPD, emergency care, radiology, day care, and an intensive care unit designed specifically.

 

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[H3]Sindh govt decides to start work on corporate farming[/H3]
The Nation
Apr 12, 2024

The Sindh government has decided to start work on the corporate farming project for which the former caretaker cabinet had allotted more than 50,000 acres on December 1 last year, reports WealthPK.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah underscored the need to improve crop yield with the help of latest technology and directed the agriculture department to strengthen the capacity of its various wings, including research centers.

"Corporate farming can be described as an agribusiness with the use of modern methodologies. This business is done by multinational corporations (MNCs) with the aim to increase food production to overcome food scarcity," Murtaza Shah, Director of Sindh Agriculture Department, told WealthPK.

Highlighting the aim of the project, he said it would get more production and revenues with the best use of technology and management skills and increase farm productivity and export in the agriculture business as well as improve the quality of farm production with less use of resources, and maintain international standard of production for all major crops at very moderate per unit cost.

The agriculture sector in Sindh has not performed to its potential. Moreover, growth has mainly driven by higher use of resources and inputs, rather than higher productivity. Low agriculture and livestock yields are also a principal cause of low incomes and high food prices, which make it difficult for the majority of Sindh's population to afford a nutritious diet.

"Sindh has a number of resource advantages, including good soils for agriculture and grazing, available surface and underground water sources, 350kms of coastline suitable for fishing and aquaculture, a climate that allows production of a wide range of crops and their early harvest, and a hard-working labour force," Imtiaz Chandio, Member of Sindh Agri Task Force told WealthPK.

However, these resources are under threat due to the over-application of water in some areas, overuse of groundwater, and focus on wheat and cotton rice rotation, with high use of fertilizers and pesticides, he added.

In the case of livestock, much of the dairy industry is located in urban and semi-urban areas where overcrowding of animals and poor effluent disposal are resulting in increased risk of disease outbreak and groundwater contamination.

In a number of coastal areas, the resources are now overfished. Another threat is climate change with a likely increase in temperatures, increased risk of floods and droughts, and higher frequency and intensity of rainfall and winds. The health of Sindh's population is under threat due to the poor nutrition, he added.