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The bane of jurisdiction dispute JURISDICTION dispute hampers road work. A headline not quite harmless in the metropolitan pages of 8th May. An interesting story, symbolic of the disgusting way how work gets hindered and stopped in this society. Bureaucratic society, where the system discourages forward positive movement? This jurisdiction dispute can take place anywhere, anytime, and stall any work. Regardless of all consequences. This story makes you reflect and we’ll get to it after we have reflected on it. So wait. The reason for this hampering and stoppage of work can be, and are, varied. Sometimes only ego, ignorant and arrogant, but carefully masked and camouflaged under a bogus professionalism. Sometimes it is a simple difference of opinion between two stubborn officials, and consequently the citizens suffer. The common man pays for that period, and afterwards as well, as two institutions or individuals test their power, skills, and nerves. So many interpretations, that is another reason why disputes over jurisdiction surface. Or a lack of resources? One discerning citizen who has seen the various changes of Pakistani society, or even the way Karachi’s town planning is lopsided and wayward, observes “there are also disputes and differences of opinion on fundamental matters, or subjects. Do the subjects belong to the federal government or the provincial government or are local matters to be dealt with by local bodies.” “Then he referred to the current scenario where there are serious differences of opinion between the provincial government and local bodies. Or the on-going situation where provincial governments want more power and responsibility than what they have already.” This particular 8 May story, one interprets, is not one of a kind. It represents the kind of scenario that Pakistan’s cities and villages are faced with. It could happen in any sector — and presumably is already happening. It mirrors the attitude of officialdom passing the buck, or of town planners shirking work or responsibility, lacking the vision or even the simple awareness that the citizen needs to be treated as a “king.” Or at least given the respect, decency and morality that he deserves as a matter of right. Jurisdiction dispute even if understandable in broad terms makes you think of the oft-referred scenario of a road accident where an individual is lying unattended on a road, in pain, and a pool of blood, and possibly risking his life while even concerned citizens shy away for fears of being harassed by the police, or the traffic police themselves arguing about the correctness of jurisdiction. Fortunately, some signs of a public opinion have been created with time, and now one hears assurances that all local hospitals will admit patients without referring them to the officially-certified hospitals allowed to take medicolegal cases. Now take this particular story. It relates to Malir Town, and as you read it, it is natural to wonder where else such disputes over jurisdiction exist, and citizens suffer quietly, endlessly? A lot of our citizen suffering here is anonymous, faceless, unknown. The citizen consoles himself or herself, by autosuggestion — arguing that “it could have been worse.” Or that “it can’t be any better.” Truly pathetic, and we all know it. Have you not experienced these jurisdiction and other administrative disputes between various civic agencies vis-a-vis water, power, phone lines, gas lines, road cuts, various NOCs, and on and on/or when you need a new passport and there are inputs required from various relevant agencies. Or when you need to organize a cultural programme and you need clearance from more than one agency in the same city. In this Malir Town story this is what is reported “a dispute over jurisdiction is making Jinnah Avenue/Highway suffer and a portion of it is being neglected as far as its maintenance work is concerned. “Road repair, footpaths greenery, central islands and streets lights are not being maintained properly on this one long portion which is in Malir Town, as well as in Faisal Cantonment Board. The area between Malir Halt and the Model Colony graveyard remains dark, causing problems to pedestrians and motorists.” I may add here that it is dreadful to imagine the kind of feeling that these Karachiites would be having, as they move about in darkness in a city where crime levels are often a source of deep concern. One would expect that the departments concerned and officials will issue some sort of a rejoinder and clarification and that citizens will be enlightened as to why this kind of a standoff has been going on for almost three years now. Is this the outcome of the new local bodies system that has come?, asked a Karachiite who takes a very cynical and sceptical view of any change that appears on the city’s horizon. He believes that things have not improved in proportion to the growth in the city’s population. And that it is simply our good luck that things haven’t become worse. This jurisdiction story relates a great deal to darkness and fear — and it is reported that the residents of Tariq bin Ziyad Society, Huma Town, and other adjoining societies resent the non-energization of the street-lights, making the area a haven for drug addicts, thieves and other criminals. They said that there were 50 poles without street-lights. Sounds so familiar, and sounds so depressing, that drug addicts, thieves and criminals of all sorts operate in this area, as indeed they do in other residential areas of Karachi. On this point one is reminded of the well-known Dadabhai Naoroji Road, in Shikarpur Colony, that once was a clean place, and now its residents complain that it is unswept and uncleaned for weeks at a stretch. But the funny (is it funny?) part is that the road is half clean and the street-lights are often non-functional. Why is Dadabhai Naoroji Road half swept? Here too is a dispute over jurisdiction. The half that comes within the purview of Jamshed Town is cleaned daily, said one resident, and the other part, which is on the side of the Quaid-i-Azam’s Mazar and Lines Area, is not. In the last 50 years this road was cleaned daily. Now it is half cleaned, and we do not know what to do, moaned another resident of the area. Some women have gone to the Jamshed Town office and others to the Jamaat-i-Islami office in Shikarpur Colony, but to no avail. Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
