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MAY 2009

• Lyari Expressway; Contractors being paid millions to do nothing

• Issues in education

• Private water tankers cater to 40 percent of city’s need’

• Tanker mafia, behind Karachi’s water woes

• Goth under siege

• Saving schools in Orangi

• Urbanization

• Tax on hoardings: CDGK unlikely to meet Rs700m revenue target

Lyari Expressway

Contractors being paid millions to do nothing

The federal government is making a monthly payment of Rs20 million to the consultants and contractors of the Lyari Expressway as a maintenance cost despite the fact that the construction work has been at a standstill due to a delay in the removal of encroachments from along the Lyari river.

Recent conversations with the officials concerned about the project’s current status and the government’s plan to complete it suggest that there has been no headway in the devising of a mechanism for the removal of encroachments from along the Lyari riverbed – demarcated to build the north-bound carriageway of the Lyari Expressway – and for the subsequent resettlement of affected families.

A senior official confirmed that Rs20 million was being paid by the federal government on a monthly basis to the consultants and contractors as what he described as “idle charges”. He said the amount was paid to ensure that the required manpower and machinery remained “mobilised”.

“Eight million rupees is being paid to a private builder alone,” said Altaf Ahmed Chaudary, Chairman of the National Highway Authority, in a brief response to a Dawn query.

“Similarly, the Frontier Works Organisation and our consultants also get regular payments under the idle charges. Such charges are usually spent to maintain the temporary facility and keep the huge machinery mobilised.”

The National Highway Authority, meanwhile, has submitted a revised cost of the project, which is said to have jumped by almost 100 per cent to Rs20 billion.

“Under the revised estimates there is also spending, which is being made under the defined agreements with the consultants and contractors who have set up their facilities along the expressway,” said an official. Launched in 2002, the Lyari Expressway project was estimated to be completed in November 2004 at a cost of Rs5.1 billion funded by the federal government.

Though the south-bound carriageway of the nearly 17-kilometre expressway has already been opened to vehicular traffic, authorities have been reluctant to give the exact revised schedule for the project’s completion. While there has been no official word from any quarter concerned about the resumption of the work on the project, a senior member of the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government sounded confident in a recent conversation with Dawn and said that he would be able to resolve the issue within the next few weeks.

“We have conveyed such concerns, including extra spending on the project on account of maintenance, to all the institutions concerned and the stakeholders,” said Federal Communication Minister Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan.

“The president is taking a personal interest in the project and he issued clear directives to all the institutions, including the provincial and the city governments, to play their role for the speedy completion of the project.”

However, a source privy to the recent discussions at the provincial and federal levels said that the increased cost of the project encouraged its planners to ask the Sindh government to contribute to the total cost. But the provincial government strongly opposed this demand.

“The Sindh government has come up with the argument that it can’t afford 20 per cent of the total cost of the project at this point in time, as the project was planned, designed and then executed solely by the federal government,” said the source.

Officials and sources close to the process said that one of the reasons behind the delay in the completion of the project was a halt in the city government’s anti-encroachment drive. They said that the city government stopped the campaign owing to the fact that the federal government was not releasing funds for the resettlement of the families likely to be affected and the provincial government was yet to identify land for the purpose of resettlement. The sources said that the areas from where encroachments were to be removed for resuming the construction of the north-bound carriageway were Hazara Colony, Mianwali Colony and Shah Waliullah Colony situated along a section of the Lyari river near Liaquatabad. Hundreds of families are residing in permanent and well-built residential structures mainly on the north-bound track of the project. While there is no plan right now for the resettlement of those to be affected during the construction of the north-bound track, records at the Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project (LERP) suggest that it has almost completed its job assigned so far.

“Out of 24,419 affected families, the LERP has resettled nearly 24,000,” the source said, adding that there were a few hundred families left to resettle and the process for their resettlements were already under way.

(By Imran Ayub, Daily Dawn, 31/05/2009)

Issues in education

A REPORT released recently by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) gives a gloomy picture of education in Pakistan. About 40 per cent of the country’s children of school-going age cannot access education, and the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report ranks Pakistan 117 out of 134 countries in terms of quality primary education, says the Sparc report. It adds that 20 per cent of the country lacks basic educational facilities, and that the Rs6.5bn Public Sector Development Programme 2007-08 failed to address this issue.

A grim picture is thus painted. The lack of access to schools increases the likelihood of children being abused or exploited, and of becoming involved in crime — the figures for child labour, for instance, have already reached the 12 million mark. A worse predicament awaits them upon reaching adulthood, for there are few employment opportunities for the illiterate and unskilled. Lack of schooling thus robs millions of children of a future, while exponentially increasing the incidence of extreme poverty and crime in the long term. If the country is to command a healthy and productive workforce in later years, the schools that will produce it must be set up today. Building schools, however, is just one of the steps. Issues such as corporal punishment in schools and the dearth of committed and trained teaching staff must also be addressed. Most importantly, the curricula must be improved to meet internationally competitive standards of education. The texts must be revised and updated, and the focus shifted from rote learning to understanding and analysis. Furthermore, the damage done over the past 25 years to the curricula must be repaired. This ‘mis-education’ comprised a skewed version of history, religion and inter-provincial politics, which created a generation divided over issues of sect and ethnicity, culture and identity — a generation of Pakistanis characterised by racial and religious prejudice and nationalistic jingoism. Efforts must be initiated forthwith to reverse these trends; only then can Pakistan prevent a future where the national earning depends on an unskilled and largely unemployable workforce that may turn towards crime and anarchy.

(Daily Dawn, 29/05/2009)

Private water tankers cater to 40 percent of city’s need’

Water tankers supply 40 percent of water to the city especially to those places where KWSB and other agencies do not supply water, while there are 5,000 registered water tankers of various sizes operating in the city.

Water Tanker Association Chairman Haji Muhammad Younis said this while addressing a forum on ‘Water supply by water tankers and their role’ held at the Urban Resource Centre (URC) office. If the KWSB starts supplying water to all the houses of the city, the need of water tankers will be eliminated but as they have failed to do so, we have taken this responsibility, said Younis. He dispelled the impression that the ‘tanker mafia’ is involved in road accidents. He lamented that the KWSB also uses huge tankers and other heavy vehicles to supply water to factories but they are not blamed for the accidents. He added that the water tanker association operates tankers of different sizes including those of 5,000-gallon, 3,000-gallon, 2,000-gallon and 1,000-gallon capacity. The cost of water being supplied by tankers varies and it mainly depends on the distance that a tanker covers to transport water, he said.

(DailyTimes-B1, 30/04/2009)

Tanker mafia, behind Karachi’s water woes

Recently undertaken research has revealed that Karachis water tanker mafia, which generates an estimated Rs49.6 billion annually, siphons off over 272mgd or 41% of the water from the citys bulk distribution system every day and then sells the commodity at exorbitant rates to residents and industries suffering from the water scarcity that is largely caused by the activities of the water tanker mafia itself.

A report authored by Perween Rahman of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) shows that the city is supplied with 695mgd of water, 645mgd from the River Indus and an average of 50mgd from the rain-fed Hub dam supply. Of this, 30mgd are supplied to the steel mills and Port Qasim before the water reaches the main Dhabeji pumping station, so the actual supply of water to the city is 665mgd every day.

However, the city requires a maximum of 601mgd of Karachis 16 million residents, lower and middle-income areas require about 20 gallons per person per day while the needs of the higher income groups, about 20% of the population, are estimated at 35 gallons per person per day; meanwhile, industries require an average of 123mgd and there is an additional requirement of 110mgd for other uses.

This would indicate that sufficient water is supplied to the city every day to meet its needs. However, the reality is that bulk supply to towns is 293mgd and thus there is a shortfall of between 260 and 308mgd, says the OPP report. This shortfall is met through tanker supplies. Karachis bulk supply is 665mgd. With 15% wasted due to technical leakages, the available supply comes to 565.25mgd. The gap between the actual supply and the availability is 272.25mgd, which is siphoned off from the bulk distribution and sold through tanker supplies. This operation generates an estimated Rs49.6 billion annually (at the average cost of Rs0.5 per gallon).

Sneaky tactics

There is an official system in place for water supplies via tankers. The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) maintains nine official hydrants which are managed by the Rangers. The officially sanctioned quantum of water is 13.75mgd, of which 3.42mgd is the quota for gratis supply to water-deficient areas while the rest is meant to be sold at official rates. This water is to be distributed through 13,750 trips made by 1,000-gallon capacity tankers of contracted tanker suppliers. The Rangers are authorised to charge the contractor a fixed amount of Rs44 (4.4 paisas/gallon) per 1,000 gallons of water for residential use and Rs73 (7.3 paisas/gallon) per 1,000 gallons of water for industrial purposes, which is then to be sold at the official rates.

In reality, however, 25mgd of water is taken from these hydrants and supplied to the city through tankers with capacities ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 gallons and some of 10,000 gallons.

The water is then sold at over double the official rates. The approved price of water supplied through tankers ranges between 15 and 25 paisas per gallon depending on the distance, and whether it is intended for residential or commercial use. In reality, the rates are more than doubled to 35-60 paisas/gallon depending on the distance, bargaining with clients and the season in which the water is supplied, reports the study. These inflated rates are Rs350-600 for 1,000 gallons, Rs700-1,200 for 2,000 gallons, Rs1,600-1,800 for 3,000 gallons and Rs2,000-2,400 for 5,000 gallons. Therefore, the revenue generated per day from the sale of water is an average Rs10 million, reveals the study. This is shared between the various sectors.

Unofficial hydrants

Investigations undertaken by the OPP show that in addition to the nine official hydrants, at least 161 unofficial hydrants and filling points exist all over Karachi, most of them located near bulk distribution mains. Additionally, many more filling points have been reported from all the towns.

A sample survey of nine unofficial hydrants shows that they are being used to siphon off 19.78mgd of water from the bulk supply. When extrapolated over 161 unauthorised hydrants, this means that some 358mgd of water is being removed from the regular supply channels and being sold to citizens at exorbitant rates. Clusters of these unauthorised points have been reported from six main areas: Hub reservoir to Banaras Chowk, along Manghopir Road; Banaras Chowk to Gutter Baghicha; Mewashah graveyard to Shershah along Lyari nadi; near Saba Cinema, Ayub Goth-North Karachi and up into Gadap town; along the National Highway-Malir, and in Lalabad Landhi.

With reference to the 272.25mgd of water that is siphoned off from the bulk distribution and sold through tanker supplies, the OPP report also identifies the methods used. These include piped connections to the bulk distribution mains and perpetually unattended leakages in the bulk distribution mains which cause water seepage. At such sites, bores become filling points. In some cases, like that of the Fauji Commanders hydrant near the Hub reservoir, says the report, ponds are formed through which water is pumped out into tankers. However, the report also acknowledges that lately, KWSB officials have informed that 73 piped connections to the bulk distribution mains have been disconnected in North Karachi and Gadap.

Supreme irony

In a city notorious for water shortages, it is often the KWSB that becomes the target of citizens ire during dry days. And while the organisation certainly does suffer from organisational and infrastructural problems, the study conducted by the OPP reveals that the tanker business is taking away a critical chunk of the revenue that ought by rights to go to the KWSB.

According to the study conducted by the OPP, the KWSBs budget is dependent on government subsidies and its current annual budget (2007-2008) is Rs5.3 billion. Of this, Rs2.0-2.5 billion are recovered as water/sewerage taxes while the rest is government subsidy. (A total of Rs18.678 billion worth of dues are outstanding against the government and others.)

However, water supply to everybody is not only possible but possible at affordable and humane costs. A comparison of the KWSBs annual budget of Rs5.3 billion with the Rs49.6 generated through the sale of the 272mgd that is siphoned off and supplied through tankers shows the irony of the situation, states the report. If the KWSB can supply this water, it can earn profits as well as provide water to all at affordable, humane costs.

For example, it says, if only the minimum requirement of 20 gallons per person per day were supplied at the cost of 5 paisas per gallon, the KWSB could generate Rs5.8 billion annually. This is more than the organisations annual budget. For the citizens, meanwhile, the bill amounts to about Rs200 a month, which is affordable and is incidentally the same as the average tax billed all over the city. In water deficit areas, poor people are spending an average of Rs500-600 a month buying sweet and brackish water, the report points out. People are willing to pay this same amount to the KWSB for the provision of sweet water. In addition, some of the poorest are buying sweet water supplied through gadha garis (donkey carts), the cost of which comes to Rs100-120 for about 25 gallons, ie 40 paisas per gallon and about eight times the cost of water supplied through water tankers. Meanwhile, the KWSB could also annually generate Rs44.7 billion by selling the rest of the water, about 245mgd, at the current average rate charged by tankers (50 paisas per gallon). This could be used to resolve organisational and infrastructural issues.

Traffic troubles

In addition to swindling citizens and the KWSB, the dominance of the tanker mafia also contributes to traffic congestion, pollution and needless wear and tear on the citys already overburdened road network. According to the OPP study, the Private Tankers Association reports that their members own 5,000 tankers of which 60% are of 5,000-gallon capacity, 30% of 3,000/2,000-gallon capacity and 10% of 1,000-gallon capacity. Each tanker makes 10 to 12 trips every day, which means that about 50,000 to 60,000 trips are made across the city every day to supply the water that is the citizens right.

Distribution and quotas

The city receives water from the River Indus via canals from Kinjhar, Haleji and Gharo, and through conduits to the main Dhabeji pumping station. Thereafter, the water is distributed across the city through conduits and distribution mains of 66-inch and below diameters. There are two routes: the northern (via Pipri to parts of the Malir cantonment area, the Gulshan COD reservoir, Gulshan Town and parts of Gadap, North Karachi, NEK, North Nazimabad, Gulberg, Liaquatabad and parts of Lyari) and the southern (Bin Qasim Town, Landhi, Korangi, along the National Highway to Shah Faisal and Jamshed towns, Saddar town including Defence and Clifton, Lyari and Keamari). The Hub water supply, meanwhile, services mainly Orangi, Site and Baldia towns. Since the Hub and River Indus supplies are interconnected at the distribution mains, the supply is meant to be shared as needed.

According to the OPP report, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Boards quota for supply to the various towns, the cantonment and DHA amounts to 417.65mgd of the available water. However, the actual supply reaching the towns is only about 293mgd. Seven towns Orangi, Gadap, Baldia, Jamshed, Site, North Karachi and Gulshan get 30-57% of their quota while others get about 60-100% . Cantonment gets 100% while DHA gets 133%, states the study.

Source:www.karachipage.com/news/Apr_08/040108.html

Goth under siege

What makes Zobu Goth’s story different from the other Goths that were razed to the ground is the account of the strong-willed people, who stood shoulder to shoulder and resisted illegal demolitions. Community activism also played an equally important role in organising the people in order to protect their lands and plots from the clutches of an influential political party.

Zobu Goth, an old rural settlement of the city, is located in the Union Council Manghopir, Gadap Town, and has been established since 1986. The settlers, who have paid for their plots, are mostly vegetable sellers, masons, and domestic servants. Though the Goth lies in the jurisdiction of the Gadap Town, residents allege that the Orangi Nazim was the one who gave orders for the settlement’s demolitions. The first strike on the settlement came on July 21, 2007 when the 2,000 houses present in the settlement including the training centre, were knocked down. However, the people put up resistance and built their houses again, till a second attack pulled down their make-shift houses in January 2008. The final blow came on March 22, 2008 but was later on stopped in time by the community activists and Gadap Town officials.

“Although the residents have bravely put up resistance throughout the various phases of eviction, they have run out of money to rebuild their houses. That is why only 70-80 families have moved back in the settlement. Others have simply built boundary walls around their plots to secure their land from illegal land grabbers. Though the Gadap town officials have now come to the people’s help, they still face threats of eviction,” added Shamsuddin.

(The News, 04/05/2009)

Saving schools in Orangi

The Orangi Pilot Project’s (OPP) model of the ‘School Saving Program’ has encouraged small-scale private schools in Orangi to start an investment scheme whereby they invest money every month from their earnings, which in turn is utilised to upgrade schools and improve their standards, The News has learnt.

According to Salma Mir of the Research and Training Institute (RTI), of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), “The OPP came up with the idea of forming saving groups in the education sector after studying the pattern of similar groups established in other countries. Therefore, in 2004 the OPP along with a school group named the United Education Development Society formed the first saving group in Orangi.”

The School Saving Programme now comprises four groups altogether. Two of them belong to the Orangi Town; whereas one is situated in Baldia Town and the other one in SITE. “The first group in Orangi currently comprises 25 schools which over a period of five years have saved up to Rs2,15,000. The second saving group in Orangi is a newly formed one, comprising six schools and has saved up to Rs6,000 to date.”

While explaining the function of these groups, Mir said, “The OPP gives a grant of Rs50,000 to each saving group to help them get on their feet. After that the schools move ahead with the formation of the groups. Every month, schools deposit a certain amount of money in the bank. If the schools need money the administrations can then acquire the required amount from the deposited money. This money is then used to improve the infrastructure of the institutions, to buy lab equipments and other electrical equipments such as fans and tube lights. Every month, the schools also meet up to discuss their problems, share ideas and hold discussions on how to further develop their schools”, added Mir.

(By Rabia Ali, The News, 06/05/2009)

Human beings like other organisms, have always polluted their environment with the byproducts of their action. As an organism man creates waste. As a social creature, he removes things from his environment and adds residue to it. So long as population density has been low on the planet, the environment was able to accommodate these alterations. Now with the world population about 8.5 billion people and increasing by 220,000 each day, the concentration of population in cities and resulting deterioration of environment is sounding alarms. The situation is urban Pakistan is worst. The process of economic development over last 58 years has brought number of changes. One of the most critical dimensions of the process is urbanization of rural society. As the development has taken place primarily from agricultural to industrial economy, large scale rural to urban migration has taken place, changing the face of our cities as well as villages. The concentration of more and more people into urban areas is regarded as one of the major environmental threat today. The process is expected to escalate in Pakistan though many of our cities have already reached the point where further population concentration (by natural birth or migration) may jeopardize the delivery of basic civic services to all.

Urbanization process has effected all parts of country: villages, towns and cities in one-way or the other. The intensity of impact is most critical in the larger cities. Karachi, Lahore, Faislabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Sarghoda and Peshawar are suffering from environmental degradation and quantifiable deficiencies in basic civic services. The civic bodies are badly failing to manage these problems.

Solid waste management has become one of the serious urban nightmares in Pakistan. The municipalities equipped with centuries old and outdated methods inefficiently lift only 60 percent of the municipal waste generated in our cities. In the absence of professionalism and proper waste disposal systems, most of the garbage lifted from the cities is crudely dumped in open spaces nearby. These dumps attract mosquitoes, rats, cockroaches, houseflies, ticks flees as well as stray dogs and birds like vultures and crows. Carried by the vectors, bacterium thriving in rotten and moist garbage is spreading all sorts of diseases. Other 40 percent waste is simply not picked up and keeps rotting in streets or illegal filth depots inside the cities. As the society prospers, its trash -- mainly hazardous plastic, metals packaging and pathogenic non-biodegradable rubbish -- is growing exponentially.

Karachi the mega city with population estimated over 11 millions, alone is generating 6000 tons of waster per day. Solid waste management department of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation is trying to keep the city clean with fleet of vehicles and an army of sweepers in its roll. Result: "The effects of environmental degradation due to the waste left inside Karachi are slowly poisoning the city", notes an epidemiologist.

Sewerage systems only in portions of the cities are crumbling. Apart from being old they were basically designed for lesser population without catering for the future growth. Remaining population depends for waste disposal on septic tanks, soak pits or over flows into open drain. As a result of improper disposal of human waste (in many areas there is no disposal) from the housing environment a large number of children are suffering from or are vulnerable to the attacks of different diseases. The effluents from industrial units and tanneries working unchecked in the residential areas -- with high concentration of pollutants are adding to the problems. Kasur, Multan and Sialkot are typical examples of the case in point. One major problems of urbanization in Pakistan is the eating up of green and open spaces -- so important for ecological balance -- by concrete structures of ever expanding cities. Only 25 years back Lahore and Faislabad had several patches of agricultural land. Today, there is no arable land with in the limits of these cities. In Peshawar 2700 hectares of agricultural land were lost between 1965 and 1985. Multan had many mango orchards (Ram jis Bagh, Abidanwalla Bagh, Qasim Bagh, Langhe Khan Bagh, Hazori Bagh, Dewanwalla Bagh and Mirza Jan Bagh) inside the city. They all have been converted into plazas and industrial units. There is no open space in cities as small as Mandi Baha Ud Din that was declared district headquarters only in 1993.

The fresh water supply in our cities is dwindling as the cities are expanding. Access to the clean water is available to about 77 percent of the urban population. Only 30 percent have the luxury of piped water supply and the rest are being served by stand posts or public taps. Per capita water consumption in urban areas in bare minimum to sustain human life. Even the (finite) subsoil water reserves are decreasing due to high pumping rate. In most of the cities water pipe lines run next to the sewer lines there for, contaminating the drinking water.

Air governs the quality of our environment. The air in our cities is so polluted that it can be smelled and seen everywhere. When the wind is still, the fumes of vehicles, industrial concerns, smoke from garbage piles put of fire as well as airborne particles to dirt and pollen can be seen hung about any city. Only in Lahore 800,000 vehicles are responsible (apart form the noise pollution) for contaminating the environment by emitting poisonous gasses. Breathing has become a health hazard in soot-choked cities like Gujranwala where tar coal drums, electric wires and old tyres are burnt inside the residential areas in order to separate the iron. There is an acute shortage of houses in the cities and the real estate prices are skyrocketing. The demand for the land is growing and the supply is limited. Since the land is essential for urban growth, devising equitable and efficient land development policies is one of the major challenges facing planners and policy makers, who do not seem to be aware of the seriousness of the problem. The number of slum and katchi abadi dwellers is on the increase. In the typical city street, the road is potholed by PTCL or WASA excavations, electric generators and transformers carry a dangerous web of cable overhead. Shops encroach onto the roadways. Vendors have covered the open drains and advertisements and ugly looking neon signs are covering every available surface.

Historic buildings disappear without regret and even the protected monuments are suffering from vandalism. The roads are full of illegal speed breakers, all different in sizes and shapes. The old trees are being cut without a second thought. There is no body to oversee the overall growth of cities and to coordinate the work of city development agencies. It is ideal if the human beings are dispersed evenly around the countryside. But people have been coming to cities for better economic and educational opportunities and better quality of life. It is about time that policy makers should think hard and plant to check the current demographic trend. This can be done, though it has yet not started to begin in Pakistan.

(Source: Labels: Urbanisation

http://thattakedona.blogspot.com/2009/05/urbanization.html)

Tax on hoardings: CDGK unlikely to meet Rs700m revenue target

The City District Government Karachi is unlikely to meet its revenue target from advertising hoardings and billboards in the current financial year due to the prevailing financial crisis and the elimination of some authorised roadside advertisement spots.

Sources in the government said that a target of Rs550 million was set for revenue to be collected by the local tax department through roadside hoardings and billboards within the jurisdiction of the CDGK, and another Rs150 million through “shop signboards, sunshades and other out-of-home communication media” during the financial year 2008-09. However, an amount of around Rs402 million has been recovered under the two heads as of May 18, 2009.

Referring to the advertisement revenue generation position, an official of the tax department said that recovery had been acceptable for shop signboards and sunshades. He said that about 73 per cent of the targeted amount was collected under this head, compared to only 22 per cent of the tax target for roadside hoardings and billboards being collected.Under the head of fees and tax collected from the private building owners who allowed public advertisement fixtures on their rooftops, the government had collected about 173 million so far, the source added. There existed about 4,000 billboards and hoardings on grounds, buildings and private sites in 2005, while the total earning of the government through taxation of these was around Rs100 million.

After amendments were introduced in the advertisement hoarding city government bylaws in December 2006, a new survey was conducted and about 1,700 sites were identified for advertisement and erection of hoardings along roadsides and near roundabouts in the 18 towns of the CDGK. With the passage of time, a source confirmed, the number of government authorised sites decreased due to the construction of flyovers and other development projects, while the number of private sites increased. He added that at present advertisers were only using about a third of the government approved land sites (about 500) and only about 300 private sites. About 60 per cent of the revenue generated through government sites comes from Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Jamshed, North Nazimabad and Saddar towns.

After an era of economic prosperity, the city of Karachi is now also faced with the effects of the global financial crisis in the shape of soaring commodity prices and the reversal of the housing boom. As such, it will be difficult for the CDGK to reach its revenue targets as far as advertising hoardings are concerned, analysts say. An official indicated the CDGK would have to widen its net to increase fixed sources like shop signboards and sunshades, shopping mall displays, bus terminal signage, neon signs and various transitory media outlets. He added that there were still many shops and sales centres which were not recorded for tax purposes or were not paying the required amount due to various reasons, including malpractice on the part of staffers.

With the financial year drawing to a close, the local taxes department of the Revenue Group of Offices, CDGK, has advised advertisers, companies and shop owners to deposit the advertisement fees for 2008-09 immediately to avoid legal action through magistrates, who can impose fines and jail custody. It is learnt that the CDGK has set a revenue target of Rs750 million for hoardings and billboards, while another target of Rs240 million has been set for shop signs and sunshades, for the year 2009-10. A difficult target to meet in the given situation, said insiders.

The executive director of the local taxes department, M. Rehan Khan, told Dawn that the revenue would touch Rs500 million in the current financial year. Though the number of government sites had decreased in the wake of public security, aesthetic needs and development of flyovers, intersection and signal-free corridors, efforts were being made to increase the advertisement revenue and attract more and more advertisers to the government authorised spots, he said. During the ongoing financial year, “till mid May we have generated about Rs402 million, which included Rs110 millions from shops, Rs118 million from land sites and Rs173 million from private property holders who allowed the utilisation of their premises for advertisement purposes.” He said that opportunities for advertisers interested in occupying government sites were currently lessened. A good number of sites along Shaheed-i-Millat Road, University Road, roads in Saddar and Jail Chowrangi had to be eliminated due to the development of public welfare projects in recent years, he added. Responding to a question, he said that the shop signboards and sunshades could be a greater and permanent source of revenue, but that needed a proper and fool proof collection system. The government was also contemplating the outsourcing of the survey of shop signboards and sunshades and other commercial displays and fixation and recovery of taxes, Mr Khan informed Dawn.

(By Mukhtar Alam, Dawn-13, 27/05/2009)