The Hyderabad SITE Association of Trade and Industry (HSATI) has expressed serious reservations over anti-industrial growth policies of all federal and provincial government concerned departments responsible for promoting trade and industrial activities.
The HSATI observed that due to negligence and anti-industrial growth policies of these departments particularly Sindh Industrial Trade Estate Limited, the industrial growth in Hyderabad SITE has reached at the verge of destruction and forcing the industrialists to shut down their units which providing tens of thousands jobs to the residents of Hyderabad.
In a joint statement here on Friday, the HSATI chairman Muhammad Shahid Kaimkhani, patron-in-chief Mazhar-ul-Haq Choudhry, ex-chairman Aamir Shahab and SITE Sub-Committee convener Salahuddin Qureshi said despite repeated requests, appeals and demands from the industrialists of Hyderabad, the SITE Limited had failed to discharge its responsibility which was assigned it to carry out development in industrial zones and facilitate the industrialists in order to boost up the industrial development of the province. As a result of negligence from the management of SITE Limited, they said the infrastructure of Hyderabad SITE has almost been destroyed.
Besides, they said officers of other federal and provincial government departments including Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have also started teasing and harassing the industrialists with issuance of threats of sealing their industrial units.
The unannounced power outages from HESCO and low gas pressure from SSGL are the key issues which are being experienced by the industrialists of Hyderabad SITE besides repeated threats of Sindh EPA, they said adding that under such stepmotherly attitude, the industrialists are unable to make their units operative in smooth direction.
Under the terms and conditions, SITE Limited is responsible to ensure provision of clean water to industrial zones of the province, but the management concerned had failed to ensure availability of clean water in the area, they said and added that the negligence of the concerned management had also destroyed the sewerage system of the areas.
The drain nullah having six feet high from ground level and constructed in SITE at Hyderabad-Tando Muhammad Khan Road by Sindh Works and Services Department, is a threat of submerging the area in upcoming monsoon rains, they said.
Despite claims of the officers of SITE Limited that filter plant in SITE Hyderabad is under progress, the said plant remained unutilized causing great hardship for industrialists and workers to get clean drinking water in the area, they said and added that for last 12 years, the industrialists are waiting to get their plots in Hyderabad SITE Phase-II.
If the plots of Hyderabad SITE Phase-II handed over to allottees, the same can play vital role for rapid industrial development of Hyderabad with availability of job opportunities for jobless persons and deposition of huge amount in shape of taxes to government, they said.
They appealed to the high ups of the federal and Sindh governments to take notice over such stepmotherly attitude with the industrialists of Hyderabad and ask the departments concerned to ensure the availability of require infrastructure in Hyderabad SITE.