Inside Sindh’s troubled waste management system

The Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), tasked with cleaning Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Larkana, is under scrutiny for its ballooning budget and poor performance.

Despite spending Rs 43 billion annually, three times the cost of Lahore’s sanitation system, Karachi remains one of the world’s least livable cities.

The Sindh Finance Department has raised serious concerns, calling the board’s spending non-transparent and suspicious.

In just two years, SSWMB’s expenses have soared from Rs 18 billion to Rs 43 billion, even as inflation has declined and contracts are now paid in rupees.

Experts allege that rubble and construction debris are being billed as municipal waste, while thousands of local workers face exploitation under foreign contractors.

Despite formal objections, the Sindh government recently approved an additional Rs 12 billion for the board, outside the official budget. The revelations are part of an investigative report by Nukta special correspondent Akhtiar Khokhar.