| August 1, 2002 | Thursday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21,1423 |
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Lahore Council budget
A parable of neglect
PAKISTAN and Bangladesh now look set for closer political and economic cooperation. Apart from the three agreements signed — one of them between the trade chambers — the two governments have pledged to cooperate closely in regional and world affairs. The protocol on bilateral consultations provides for “regular consultations” between the two countries. Significantly, it lays down that Islamabad and Dhaka will inform each other “on key aspects” of their internal and external policies and their positions on major international issues. Besides, there will be consultations in international organizations and forums.
The signing of the protocol followed “wide-ranging talks” between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on regional and international issues. While the president informed the Bangladesh chief executive about Pakistan’s efforts to defuse the situation arising from India’s deployment of its troops along the border, Begum Zia called for a solution of all disputes through dialogue. Its significance lies mainly in the context of Indian policy towards Pakistan. Since last December, when it deployed its troops in a threatening posture along the Line of Control and the international border, India has rejected dialogue as a means of resolving problems and differences. The international community, led by the US, has made every effort to get a dialogue between the two nuclear neighbours started. But New Delhi has cold-shouldered all such efforts by refusing to talk to Islamabad — except on its own terms and at a time of its own choosing. On Tuesday, it rejected a call by Asean leaders for a dialogue with Pakistan.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have also signed an agreement that provides for cooperation on a wide range of economic, technological and cultural issues. The heads of the two chambers of commerce and industry also signed an agreement for setting up a joint council. Pakistan has also agreed to import duty-free raw jute from Bangladesh, besides upto 10,000 tons of tea annually on similar terms. The volume of trade between the two countries is very low — only 160 million dollars a year. But given the resources the two countries possess, and the fact that their economies are complemental to an extent, there is enormous scope for increasing the volume of trade. The September 11 tragedy has also adversely affected the patterns of foreign trade of both Pakistan and Bangladesh, with the latter’s ready-made garment exports to the US going down by 40 per cent. There is, thus, need for both to diversify their trade.
Given the fact that SAARC is a non-starter because of India’s wholly negative attitude towards its neighbours, Pakistan is doing the right thing by strengthening bilateral trade relations with other SAARC members. The other day, Islamabad and Colombo signed an agreement that seeks to eliminate all existing duties within three years. This will lead to free bilateral trade between the two countries by year 2005. The trade and cultural agreement with Bangladesh falls in the same category and should serve to promote the cause of regional cooperation and amity.
THE Rs4.913 billion tax-free budget of the Lahore District Council presented on Tuesday does not seem to be up to the challenge of rapidly growing civic problems. While schemes like the Ring Road and Light Rail Transit were started by the previous government, plans for building an overhead bridge linking both portions of the Queen’s Mary College, a computer centre and a sprinkler system in the farming sector are new additions for infrastructure improvement. But they fall short of Lahore’s development needs and even otherwise 95 per cent of the uplift budget would be used for the completion of on-going schemes. The provincial government provided Rs 721 million to it for the district provincial fund schemes while Rs 622 million are meant for funding the schemes under the provincial annual development programme and another Rs 340 million for transfer to the six city government towns and the Lahore Cantonment Board.
The non-development expenditure makes a major claim on the budget, with Rs 3.947 billion being set aside for the establishment and non-salary budget. For the offices of the district and naib nazims an amount of Rs 30 million has been allocated, while expenditure on the remaining city government offices is expected to cost Rs 28 million. By comparison, the allocations for the social sectors are inadequate, with Rs 40 million for education and Rs 32 million for health. Given the poor state of municipal schools and clinics and dispensaries, more funds should have been allotted to them. While 30 per cent of the development budget would be spent on road construction and 24 per cent on water supply, the allocations for improvement of sanitation and solid waste disposal are not enough. Only 17 per cent of the development funds would be spent on this sector. The Walled City sewerage and drainage would be improved, but the fact is that the entire city demands an efficient and environment-friendly waste disposal system. New landfills should be developed and facilities for water treatment and incineration provided urgently. Although funds are being allocated to the union councils, it is important that development projects get resources according to merit and to the exclusion of political considerations to obtain the best possible results. Strict checks against corruption, which is the bane of many urban uplift schemes, are essential for proper utilization of funds.
MULTAN is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Asia. Its known history goes back at least 2,000 years, while some archaeologists trace the city’s origins back to pre-Alexander era, i.e. before 326 BC. Be that as it may, what we know for sure is that the old citadel stands atop a mound under which lies buried the Multan of antiquity. The Qasim Bagh mound overlooking the old city is replete with relics from the past — some buried deep down under, others barely breathing with their twisted necks above the ground. Among the latter are some ancient graves and samadhis, which were once thronged by devotees. It seems that barring just a few mediaeval-age sufi shrines — Shah Rukn-i-Alam, Bahauddin Zakaria and Shah Shams Tabriz — the rest of the monuments are testimony to the neglect the authorities have shown towards this ancient city.
Among the worst affected in the latter category are monuments that belong to the pre-Muslim past of the city, including the ruins of Hindu and, possibly, some Buddhist temples and shrines. But that is not where the neglect ends: the latest to fall victim to this official apathy include even the latter-day colonial buildings such as the municipality and the clock tower standing between the old city and the Qasim Bagh Fort. Several hundred evacuee buildings inside the old city — mainly havelis and mahals belonging to Hindu moneylenders — that were once the pride of the city’s architectural heritage, are in a derelict state. The least the Punjab government or the archaeology department can do is to catalogue these historic buildings and assign their upkeep to some department in the public sector. It seems the authorities, true to an old Persian adage, still consider gadagar, gard, garma and goristan — beggars, dust, heat and graves — to be the only ‘treasures’ Multan can offer.