Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab has announced a new monthly funding system aimed at improving manhole covers and street lights across the city.
The mayor said each union committee will now receive Rs 100,000 every month exclusively for repairing manhole covers and maintaining street lights, ensuring that neighborhood-level issues are addressed more efficiently.
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He explained that under the earlier system, every union committee was provided Rs500,000 at once, mainly to resolve street and neighborhood problems that required immediate attention at the local level.
Mayor Wahab acknowledged that while many committees used these funds responsibly, authorities also received complaints that the allocated amount was insufficient and that parts of it were being diverted toward salary expenses.
READ: Three-year-old boy lost life after falling into open manhole near Karachi’s Nipa Flyover
He added that the matter was presented before the provincial leadership, following which the Sindh government increased the total allocation to Rs1 million to help committees meet rising urban maintenance demands.
However, the mayor noted that even after the enhanced funding, the city did not see the expected improvements, as daily issues continued to surface without timely or effective responses from several committees.
Following the NIPA incident, he said a review of city management highlighted the need for a more controlled funding mechanism, leading to the decision to allocate Rs100,000 monthly for manhole cover repairs and street lighting upgrades.
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Mayor Wahab stated that this dedicated amount will be released to every union committee starting in December to ensure repairs are carried out regularly and residents do not face prolonged inconvenience.
He stressed that the new approach will help authorities monitor spending, increase transparency, and guarantee consistent progress, making the union committee maintenance funds more effective in resolving ongoing street-level challenges.
