HYDERABAD:Mayor of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) Kashif Ali Shoro has said he desired to resolve the long-standing problems of the citizens for at least the last 3 decades.
He was talking to a delegation of the Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry (HCSTSI), led by its President Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani, at the Mayor’s office here on Sunday.
Shoro said he enjoyed the full support of Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP’s) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, C0-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Talpur and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
He expressed hope that the corporation would not face any shortage of funds.
He said that the business community of Hyderabad was the major stakeholder of the city and their role in increasing revenue collection in Hyderabad was also commendable.
He assured that his administration would take into account the opinions of the businessmen in all their decisions.
The Mayor observed that the agriculture sector in Hyderabad was the backbone of the district’s economy, adding that the sector needed more governmental support for further progress.
The HCSTSI’s President congratulated the Mayor on his assumption of the office and said being a son of Hyderabad he was supposed to be well familiar with the city’s issues.
Shaikhani lamented that due to a lack of facilities in Hyderabad, only 75 of the 300 industries in the SITE area were currently operating. Those industries provided the livelihood to hundreds of thousands of people, he said.
He pointed out that the infrastructure of the SITE area like roads, drainage and sewage lines were in shambles.
He apprised the Mayor that at the request of the chamber, CM Sindh had issued an order for conducting the city survey of Latifabad and Qasimabad talukas last year.
The HCSTSI’s President complained that the HMC hired private contractors for tax collection was extracting unjustifiable taxes from the traders and which had ruffled the feathers of the business community.
Shaikhani maintained that the master plan 2035 for Hyderabad was being prepared by Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and he underlined the need for all the concerned departments to work in concert to prepare and implement that plan.
He said that a coordination committee should be formed between the HMC and the chamber under the chairmanship of the Mayor of Hyderabad.
He added that the committee should meet every month to discuss the problems of the traders and to try to find a resolution of the same.
The HCSTSI’s Vice President Dr Muhammad Ismail Farouk Nami, former presidents, office bearers and members were present on the occasion.