Home

Current Issues

History of Karachi

Karachi Master Plans

Economy

Land Use

Housing

Evictions

Basic Urban Services

Transport and Traffic 

Management

Law & Order Situation

Education

Health

Environment

Karachi Census

Karachi City Maps

About URC Karachi

Some Important Links

URC Website Index

Contact Us

 



       

DECEMBER 2009

 

 

ISSUES:

 

 

 

 

 

SC orders Makro to vacate playground

 

The Supreme Court has ordered a wholesale giant in Karachi to close down its huge commercial outlet in the Lines Area in three months and restore the 4.9 acres of land on which the structure was built to its original status of a playground.

 

‘Makro-Habib is allowed three months from the date of this judgment to remove its structures and installations from the playground, restore it to the same condition as existed on the date of the sub-lease and hand over its vacant possession to the city district government, Karachi (CDGK),’ a bench comprisingChief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Ghulam Rabbani ordered in their judgment on Friday.

 

The court had taken suo motu notice of the matter on the basis of an article published in Dawn titled ‘A plea to the Lord Chief Justice’, by columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee.

 

The 32-page verdict authored by Justice Khawaja ordered the city government to develop and maintain the land as a playground or use it for any other purpose permissible under the law.

‘The playground was and will remain an amenity plot falling within the jurisdiction and zoning/regulatory control of the CDGK,’ it held.

 

It said the federal government, acting in the name of former president Pervez Musharraf, had no legal authority to grant leasehold rights to the Army Welfare Trust (AWT) which later sub-leased the land to Macro-Habib Pakistan (MHPL) to build a cash and carry wholesale outlet.

 

The court cancelled the lease granted in 2002 in favour of the AWT and also sub-lease of the land to Makro-Habib in July 2006.

 

The land measuring 4.958 acres is situated in a central and densely populated area of Karachi.

During the proceedings, Karachi-based NGO Shehri, citizen Mehfoozun Nabi and the CDGK contended that the land stood transferred to the city government and was a designated amenity plot dedicated for use as a playground in the master plan for the Lines Area Project.

 

The government, the AWT and Makro-Habib relied on the Dec 19, 2002, deed whereby the former president had granted lease of the land to the AWT for 90 years at the annual rent of Rs6,020. On July 31, 2006, the AWT transferred the land to Makro-Habib by way of sub-lease for an initial term of 30 years after receiving an advance rent of Rs100 million based on a variable annual amount of at least Rs17.5 million and a maximum equivalent to one per cent of the annual turnover of the outlet.

 

The court said the AWT, which was also an NGO, had been granted the government land in a wholly opaque and non-transparent manner without any regard to financial interests of the government and without an open invitation to bidders, which could not be treated as a legitimate and permissible exercise ofexecutive powers. It said the AWT had been set up for a laudable objective of welfare of serving and retired personnel of the armed forces and their families, but it must be achieved through permissible means and not at the expense of the state exchequer or the public at large.

 

‘This guiding principle must inform all decisions taken by state functionaries in the performance of their official duties. This court has repeatedly emphasised the need for state functionaries to act in furtherance of the public interest, as they are fiduciaries ultimately responsible to their paymasters who are the people of Pakistan.

 

‘Unfortunately, in the present case we see that the concerned administrative functionaries have been seriously remiss in the performance of their duty to protect the public interest, whether in the form of providing amenities to the people or of safeguarding the state’s financial interests arising from the transfer of rights in state property.

 

‘The people of Pakistan have been blessed with a Constitution and aspire, despite difficulties, to constitutional rule. The Constitution, we can say with certainty, is imbued with an ethos and guiding spirit which underpins it and obliges the organs of the state and their functionaries to act in conformity with such guiding spirit.’

 

The MHPL issued a press statement saying it had always respected the laws of the country and any ruling of the Supreme Court.

 

‘Makro had all along assumed, in all good faith, that the AWT had lawfully obtained the lease from the defence ministry and invested Rs800 million to set up a store in a backward, depressed and slum area. ‘This store provides employment to about 350 families and has played a major part in the economic revival of that highly depressed and slum area,’ it said.

 

Now that the store might have to close down, it said, those families would be out of employment, but it respected all judicial verdicts, especially of the Supreme Court, and would implement the decision.

(By Nasir Iqbal, Daily Dawn, 19/12/2009)

 

 

 

Drinking water policy and ground realities

 

IN September this year, on the eve of World Water Day 2009, the government finally announced the new drinking water policy aimed at improving the quality of life of the people. 


The policy is designed to ensure provision of adequate quantity of safe drinking water to the entire population in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. While the policy is a good step,there are concerns about its goals being realistic and sustainable. 


The policy aims to establish a new drinking water supply system and to upgrade the existing systems in urban and rural areas for ensuring sustainable access to safe drinking water to the poor by 2020. The policy sets specific guidelines for increasing access to safe drinking water, protection and conservation of surface and groundwater resources, water treatment, appropriate technologies and standardisation.


The policy has suggested various legislative measures to ensure its effective implementation and monitoring, which will be coordinated by the environment ministry in collaboration with provincial Fana, Fata and AJK governments. The policy will be reviewed and updated after every five years by a committee constituted exclusively for the purpose. 


It has placed special emphasis on setting up of new drinking water systems, rehabilitation and upgradation of the existing ones, sustainability of water supply infrastructure, water conservation, water quality improvement, water treatment and drinking water sector management information system. It emphasises that respective tiers of the government will devise strategies and action plans in pursuit of the policy. 


Under the policy, the responsibility of ensuring safe and clean drinking water has been entrusted to the environment ministry. 


A recent study on the state of drinking water supply and usage reveals that only 21.4 per cent of the people have easy access to clean and safe drinking water. Almost 77 per cent of the rural population does not have government water supply provisions; 54 per cent have access to drinking water through hand-pumps or motor pumps, 5.8 per cent through river/lake/canal, 14.4 per cent from fountain, three per cent from well and only 1.3 per cent use bottled water for drinking purposes. 


Estimated water, sanitation and hygiene related diseases cost the economy around Rs112 billion per year, over Rs300 million, a day in terms of health cost and lost earnings. Out of this, the cost associated with diarrhoeal diseases alone is estimated at around Rs55-80 billon per year. Lack of adequate drinking water and sanitation facilities in schools is one of the contributing factors for low enrolment and high drop out of from girls’ schools. 


About 80 per cent of all diseases are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Over Rs30 billion is spent on healthcare for those who suffer from waterborne diseases.A fraction of that amount spent on safe water could save a lot of human sufferings.


Another study suggests that as of 2008, approximately 49.5 million people lacked access to safe drinking water and 50.7 million lacked access to improved sanitation. 


One of the World Bank’s Country Assessment Report estimates that environment and natural resource damage costs the economy about Rs365 billion annually. Of this, drinking water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases have been estimated to cost about Rs112 billion per year or over Rs300 million a day. Water scarcity and its poor management could lead to loss of biodiversity and agricultural production, increase in malnutrition and diseases, reduced economic growth, social instability, and conflict. 


Water stress threshold being defined as renewable water resources below 1700 cubic meter per person per year whereas its availability is just a little over 1000 cubic meter per person per year, making Pakistan water stress country. 


Urbanisation and inefficient use of water for irrigation and dependence of the agricultural sector on chemicals and fertilisers, has resulted in deterioration in water quality and contamination of lakes, rivers and ground water aquifers. The population in rural areas it relies on hand or motorised pumps. A quarter of rural households continue to draw water from un-improved sources, such as open dug wells, rivers, streams, canals and ponds. Water from these sources is mostly unfit for consumption unless treated. 


Over 90 per cent of water resources are consumed by agriculture and hardly 10 per cent is left for drinking and other purposes. Now the real challenge is to make that 10 per cent of water available for every citizen. 


There are serious ideological flaws in the policy which focused on pricing of water, tariff and privatisation, which will not be acceptable for the majority of the poor living in rural areas and urban slums. Poor budget allocation, bad governance, zero checks and balances and zero accountability and ageing infrastructure are some of the other factors which will make this policy a sour dream. 


Installation of water filtration plants across the country by the year 2015 is also an unrealistic idea as the main execution agency; the district governments have failed to successfully implement the previous projects. 


During the Musharraf regime under Clean Drinking Water for All (CDWA) project, Rs15bn were allocated for installation of 6,626 filtration plants by Dec 2007. This has not happened. 


The CDWA was to be a joint venture between the federal government as financier and the district, tehsil and town governments providing land, labour and electricity. The provincial government was to be the executor. Up to 204 plants for clean drinking water have been installed in Sindh under CDWA project. 


Mere policies cannot deliver. Pakistan is facing serious challenges due to its inability to define water rights and implement equitable water regulation policies throughout the country.


Under the policy, the government has decided to install water filtration plants not in each town but in every village. However, nobody knows that from where the huge amount required for the programme would be generated.


It is time for every stakeholder to recognise the fact that collective future depends on the collective actions.

(By Zulfiqar Halepoto, Daily Dawn, 14/12/2009)

 

 

 

 

Controversies over water sharing

 

WITH the increasing water scarcity, controversies over its distribution among provinces, especially Sindh and Punjab, keep cropping up. But of late, these are becoming numerous, and many of them have political undertones. 


Take the current controversy, setting Punjab against Irsa. Punjab says that it still has a share of 2.5 million acres feet (MAF) water left from the Indus arm, whereas Irsa says it does not owe anything to province from Indus. Punjab has already consumed its share from the Indus side, it is quoted in the media. Can 2.5maf water simply go missing from the system? 


Irsa has delivered the said quantity and Punjab has not received it. Where has the water gone? It needs to be clarified so that such unnecessary controversies could be pre-empted in future. If Irsa has released water and Punjab has mismanaged it, the province must be taken to task. But, if the reverse is true, Irsa should be asked to behave responsibly. 


The cost of such mistakes, regardless of who commits them, is simply unaffordable. Take the example of four canals – D G Khan, Thal, Muzaffargarh and CRBC – in southern Punjab, which Irsa threatened to shut down as the provincial share from Indus arm expires. 


These canals, which jointly irrigate around six million acres in southern Punjab districts, cannot be fed from any other source. The DG Khan and Muzaffargarh canals supply water to around 2.5 million acres in respective districts, Chashma Right Bank Canal to around 300,000 acres and Thal canal to another 1.5 million acres.


About 70 per cent of wheat sowing has been achieved in these areas so far, and the rest is threatened by impending closure. Should the canals get closed, it would not only hit national wheat production target but also reduce he income of millions of farmers – forcing them to miss the Rabi crops. Farmers from southern Punjab cannot pump out underground water as it is a brackish belt, and subsoil water is unfit for sowing and drinking. People in the area depend on canal supplies even for drinking purposes. The closure would also threaten national wheat target. A record crop was achieved last year because southern Punjab had produced more. 

Interestingly, apart from the media threats, the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has so far neither closed canals nor formally informed the Punjab government, despite passage of almost 72 hours, of its threat of closing all four canals. Even after three days, the authority was running canals as per schedule given by Punjab for current 10-daily (this is, at least, what Irsa spokesman claimed talking to the writer). If it does not have to close canals, why did it go to the media with threat, stirring a storm in every corner of the province? 


These controversies are being generated in the backdrop of around 35 per cent water shortage. The farmers’ fears that closing canals that have already been running at just more than half of their capacity, would ruin their crops and livelihood for this season. 


Since the entire impact of canal closure would be concentrated in the politically sensitive southern belt – considered to be one of the most backward parts and occasionally demanding to be declared a “province” to address its problems – Punjab has no choice but to fight back. That is exactly what Punjab is currently planning, strategising its response in the media, federal government and other forums. The entire controversy is being projected in the media alone. The canals are still running – Punjab was receiving 11 per cent water from the Taunsa Barrage even on Tuesday -- and the regulator and the “victim” have locked horns in the media. 


Someone also needs to dust of 91’ Water Accord and make the Indus River System Authority read it afresh. The accord was basically a development document. Only one of its clauses spoke of shortages and mechanism to share them. 


The rest 17 clauses were related to developing water resources and sharing the fruits of water richness. The authority, comprising technocrats from all provinces, was supposed to behave like a federal body – leading a national consensus on new reservoirs, selling them on the basis of their technical feasibility and educating politicians and public alike. 


Over the last 18 years of its existence, one or the other province has been complaining that the political dice is loaded against it and the authority decisions have been subservient to political preferences. Currently, Punjab is reading its numerology in the same background.

(By Ahmad Fraz Khan, Daily Dawn, 14/12/2009)

 

 

 

 

Hitches in proposed plan mar LEW completion

 

The completion of Lyari Expressway (LEW) project that has so far displaced around 28,000 families is being delayed due to faulty planning and mismanagement on part of the stakeholders.

 

Having a total length of about 39 kilometres, the National Highway Authority (NHA) allotted the LEW to the Frontier Work Organisation (FWO) at a cost of Rs5.8 billion. The work on the LEW consisting of four lanes on both sides, with two interchanges, five overpasses and five underpasses commenced on May 11, 2002. The original completion date of the project was November 8, 2004, however, despite a lapse of more than five years and double the cost incurred on the project i.e. Rs11.82 billion, the project is still not completed due to various pitfalls in the major plan and the contradictory statements by the NHA.

 

The basic purpose of the LEW, according to the brief report prepared by the NHA, was to reduce the congestion on city roads by diverting the load of heavy transport vehicles (HTV). However, this did not happen as the NHA has restricted HTVs from taking on the LEW. As a result of this, the NHA has invited the wrath of residents of the encroached nearby areas who refuse to budge.

 

The Project Director, (retd) Major Syed Ahmed told Kolachi that "we've completed 75 percent of our work and only five kilometres is still left to be completed." However, he says that the major hurdle in the completion of the project is the encroachments in Hassan Aolia, Liaquatabad, Salahi Para and Mianwali Colony and the non-cooperative attitude of the Government of Sindh and City District Government Karachi (CDGK) in removing the "encroachers and not giving of the Right Of Way (ROW) to the NHA". He claims that there is an issue of pending payments to the NHA of around Rs194.9 million, which is delaying the project and at the same time the residents of these areas are asking for a high cost to leave their lands.

 

Tariq, a resident of the Hassan Aolia Village and President of Welfare Society says that the area they live in is a historic asset to Karachi and they are not going to leave it to suit the vested interests of a few people. "Their basic demand is to change the design of the plan so that the Hassan Aolia Village does not come in the way. For years we are being fooled by these people. There's a case pending in the Supreme Court against the project directors of the LEW and we do not want any money from them, we are awaiting justice," he explained.

 

Speaking about the bridge, Ahmed at first said that it is not for heavy vehicles, however, he later said that the reason heavy vehicles are not allowed on the bridge is the maintenance issue. "Once the entire project is completed, we will open it for heavy vehicles as well," he added.

 

As per the brief report prepared by the NHA, it is considering 'three different options' out of which the first one is to follow the original design, which according to Ahmed can not happen as they are facing tough resistance from the people of areas such as Hassan Aolia, Liaquatabad, Salahi Para and Mianwali Colony. They bluntly refuse to leave the land which was owned by their forefathers as according to them they are the rightful owners because the land is leased on their names.

 

The second option that could have been considered by the NHA was to construct the bridge in all the areas on the river bed from Sindhi Hotel to Mewashah (Mianwali Colony). But Ahmed says that to opting this would have meant an additional construction cost of Rs2, 961 million. Moreover, safety of the population living on the river bed could not have been ensured during floods as well as more encroachments on the river bed would have continued.

 

Lastly, the NHA are left with the third option of partial re-alignment of all the three encroached areas. According to Ahmed out of the three, the third is the most feasible, economical as well as less time consuming option, considering the economic stability of Pakistan.

 

The LEW has been discussed and debated upon a number of times with no productive results or conclusions. It is high time the authorities instead of 'hoping for the best' take some practical and informed decisions. Interference from the high-ups as well as a commitment from the federal government and CDGK for owning the project is the need of the hour.

(By Saher Baloch, The News-13, 21/12/2009)

 

 

 

 

Displaced but rehabilitated

 

The Northern Bypass project started in the year 2002, but the project was marred by the collapse of the bridge located at Shershah, alongside the Northern Bypass. The bridge caved in on Sept 1, 2007 -- only a month after its inauguration, killing six people.

 

Located in the commercial industrial area of the city, the bridge had a direct impact on industrial traffic in the area. "Ever since the bridge collapsed, traffic here has gone haywire with heavy-load trucks and small vehicles all having to pass through the same narrow and broken roads. We were better off before, when there was no bridge and construction," said Muhammad Mehboob, owner of a flour factory located in the vicinity. "And since it was built by the government's own companies, there is no one to question them," he lamented.

 

There aren't many settlements that mark any significant population displacement due to the project. Since the entire length of the highway is located in the outskirts of the city, there do not seem many displacements which were carried out for the execution of the project. There are, however, a few illegal Goths alongside the Shershah bridge, such as the March Goth and the Mauripur Goth.

 

At the time of construction in 2002, these Goths were moved back with clearing a few of the settlements on the edges. "There were a total of 77 encroachers who we paid through the Revenue Department of the CDGK," said Mushtaq Ahmed Kalhoro, Director Construction of the Northern Bypass.

 

The evacuation was executed by the CDGK under the Revenue department, which paid a paltry sum of Rs50,000 as compensation per unit.

 

There were also some houses which were relocated in March Goth. Mohammed Ameen, a resident of the Goth, owned a house at the foremost corner of the village, which was demolished as per the construction plan and was given compensation. He was also promised a plot, which he has still has not been allotted, despite a lapse of seven years. "Due to a lack of space, I had to send back my family back to my village in interior Sindh," Ameen told Kolachi.

 

Mauripur Goth -- a mixed settlement of Balochs, Pathans and Sindhis, was also evacuated in parts. Unlike the largest displacement at the Lyari Expressway, there was hardly any relocation planned for these people, except for the Rs50,000 remuneration. Most people in the village still seem happy, as life for them has not been much affected by the new construction.

 

"These were illegal settlements but have now been incorporated into a town by the CDGK, the Mauripur Town, and is now managed under a separate department called Gothabad," Aijaz, a representative of the CDGK Revenue department told Kolachi.

The Northern Bypass – recognised as the second shortest motorway and the longest bypass -- is known as M-10. The 56-kilometre-long track is located in the northern outskirts of Karachi, and this expressway was built especially for the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and heavy traffic vehicles. 

 

The project was started under the patronage of National Highway Authority on land bought for Rs74 million from the city government. The project was executed in two packages: Package-I includes a 32-km-long road that starts from West Wharf at the ICI Bridge, and passes from Manghopir, RCD highway, up to Halkani Town. Package-II passes through the outskirts of Surjani Town, SITE, Gulshan-e-Maymar and ends at the Super Highway. This track is 24.638km long. 

 

The total cost of the venture was estimated at Rs2,201.17 million, but the completed project in 2007 cost a total of Rs3,197.54 million. Started on September 1, 2002, the only circumferential highway in Karachi was finished by NLC Engineers and ECI (Pvt) Ltd contractors on May 10, 2007.

 

"This project reduces travel time, vehicle operating cost, protects the city road pavements from heavy axle loadings, reduces pollution level, and improves the transport network serving the outbound and inbound Karachi port traffic," said Riaz Shah, project member at National Highway Authority.  

 

 Meanwhile, the bridge that collapsed at Shershah lies broken even after a lapse of almost two years. "It was supposed to be completed in November 2009, but the rubble is still there and it blocks the road and hinders smooth traffic flow," said Zahid Farooq, Director of Urban Resource Centre, a research institute.

(By Samia Saleem, The News-13, 21/12/2009)

 

 

 

How Pakistan survives

 

WHAT keeps Pakistan afloat? How, despite its seemingly precarious political existence and the gloom and doom spread by the highly politicised media, as well as the horrendous bomb blasts, does the country manage to survive? 


For the answer switch off your television and step outside to see for yourself how people cope in a country that does not provide its citizens even their basic needs. The immense reserves of resilience the people have are striking. 


In the forefront are those who lead them. Before you get it wrong, one must add that these leaders are not the ministers and elected representatives who unfortunately lack the mettle that goes into the making of leadership. Our real leaders are the thousands of community activists in our midst — not necessarily well-known. They are heroes in their own right. They deserve our gratitude. 


By inspiring their community, sharing its joys and sorrows and constantly striving to uplift it in a spirit of optimism and good cheer, these leaders keep their people going and prevent the country from collapsing into chaos. 


There are so many of them that it almost appears a national conspiracy hatched by the media to keep such activists out of the limelight. Have you heard of Tahira Ali, who works for the rights of Karachi’s fisherfolk? Or Majeed Manghrio of Sanghar who became his community’s leader in its struggle against the landlords in their dispute over Chottiari Dam? Or Amir Mohammad from the NWFP who is leading a movement to save the forests of the Frontier? And what about the theatre group from Lyari which stages street plays to promote harmony in its strife-torn locality. The endeavours of these activists and many others should be celebrated. They are also idealists — some more, some less. 


But they all have a “utopian desire to serve others, to solve real problems, to create a better world, more kind, more just and more prosperous” to quote the late Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan. An activist par excellence, who preferred to call himself a social scientist, he had the qualities all successful leaders possess — idealism, a dream, courage to effect change, selflessness and a love for humanity. 


Unlike advocacy, activism actually brings about changes in social and physical conditions without waiting for the government or state institutions to act. Activism does not involve philanthropy either. 


It is a befitting tribute to Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan that the Orangi Pilot Project or OPP — his legacy — should hold a forum every year in December to mark his death anniversary. The idea of holding this intellectual exercise is to honour the memory of this great man and also carry his message forward by encouraging the networking of activists from all over Pakistan. It was at the 10th forum where I met the aforementioned activists and learnt of their good work. 


This activism at the grassroots helps Pakistan survive. For Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan, a modest and unassuming man, there could be no bigger sin than the attitude of ‘I know best’ especially vis-à-vis the community with which he worked. His philosophy of research and extension involved studying the problems of a community and learning from its members about how they coped. On the basis of that knowledge he sought to develop a package of technical guidelines that he offered to people as a measure of support. 


His initial research involved several months of “wandering around Orangi in a battered jeep” observing the physical environment and talking to people. His basic findings were most interesting. 


First, when the government fails, local communities rise to the occasion and work on a self-help basis. Second, people mobilise their own financial and manpower resources if they are provided social and technical guidance. Third, the main concerns of the people are housing and sanitation, healthcare, education and employment. 


By adopting a people-centred development strategy that rejected the imposition of an external model from above, OPP’s founder in effect upheld the dignity and esteem of the people. In the introduction of Akhtar Hameed Khan’s book, Orangi Pilot Project: Reminiscences and Reflections, Arif Hasan wrote in 1995, “Akhtar Hameed Khan is now 81. He visits Orangi every day to teach, guide and analyse and in the process, he claims, he maintains his sanity.” 


Those who were trained and inspired by him now sustain his legacy. Perween Rahman, the director of the OPP-Research and Training Institute, who joined the project in 1982, and Anwer Rashid, director of the OPP Charitable Trust and head of the micro-credit programme, are two activists whose contribution to the social mobilisation of the people of Orangi is immense. A close look at the Orangi experiment and Akhtar Hameed Khan’s own work confirms that activism to be successful is a dual-tiered operation. It has in its mainstream community leaders who understand the thinking, needs and aspirations of their people. 


The second tier comprises equally committed individuals, mainly professionals, who may not be drawn from the community but have strong empathy with it. Their role is what Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan described his own to be — that of a dadi amma (grandmother) who holds the family together while providing each member solace and guidance. This second tier is vital to providing confidence and continuous support for social mobilisation. 


All development projects, whether for housing, education or primary healthcare, must have these two tiers of activism closely integrated if they are to succeed. Without the participation of the people at the grassroots, no development strategy can work and the local leadership alone can mobilise people. 


A second tier of professionals not drawn from the community is needed until the community reaches that level of education and training where it can produce its own professionals. The second tier must, however, have strong links and identify with the population to enjoy the confidence of indigenous activists. 


That is the secret of OPP that has made it feasible and replicable. The expanding network of NGOs and CBOs that have links with the OPP keeps growing vindicating Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan’s philosophy.

(By Zubeida Mustafa, Dawn-7, 31/12/2009)