| 10 November 2004 | Wednesday | 26 Ramazan 1425 |
The real state of real estate
Shad Azimabadi remembered
Row over fishing rights in Badin coastal belt
President General Pervez Musharraf had an animated interaction with a cross-section of intellectuals and writers earlier this month on challenges facing the country.
Transparent and candid in word, Musharraf's presentation - 'unstructured' in his own words - might have been a judicious blend of an appeal and a warning to either make the most of the 'opportunities' available or live to regret the loss of these for want of a positive and practical approach.
Never before in our history, he said, had so many opportunities been available and so many threats around as now. It was for us to utilize the opportunities and skip the threats as best as we could. He made a special reference to the A.Q. Khan affair - and how well it had been tackled: after all, Dr Khan was denounced as the "rogue scientist" of a "rogue state".
Though Pakistan had managed to live down the infamous label, the threat remained. It could be invoked yet again if we failed to put our nuclear house in order.
About Kashmir, the president said he would never compromise on Pakistan's "principled stand." The dispute, he said, must be resolved "without humiliating" either side. The use of the word "humiliating", even in the sweep of an essentially extempore speech, was significant for raising it from the level of realpolitik to the heights of an issue with a humanitarian face. Better still a matter of honour for the concerned parties to resolve without hurting each other's interests and sensitivities. That calls for a precise and clear-cut definition of the dispute whether as one of territory or of human rights or both. If territory is not involved, why should we call Kashmir as our jugular?
Allegations of nuclear proliferation, in whatever shape and form and at whatever scale, by unscrupulous individuals would be simply unpardonable. It could put our strategic assets at risk more than any other single factor.
He went on to name the "menace" of extremism and stress the need of "weeding it out" from society. The intelligentsia could and must play its role in bringing about "societal transformation" and suppress extremism to help Pakistan develop into a moderate, progressive society.
There are now many TV channels devoting precious air time to "religious" programme - essentially rhetorical litanies in verse and prose. A personable young religious scholar, telecasting from a private TV channel, interacts with his viewers on such issues as the Quranic concept of heaven and hell. He is now a minister of state for religious affairs.
A set of young and elderly crooners render devotional verse (na'at) in their sing-song voice. They sway as they perform. They must indeed be having a dedicated viewership. To what effect and benefit, however, is not known. All TV sets installed at air terminals reflect the same images to clash with the essence of 'enlightened moderation'.
Might it not be a better idea to arrange extension lectures on various aspects of Islamic values, history and culture? Even Ziaul Haq arranged a series of such lectures on Islamic history and civilization by eminent scholars. Scholars like Dr Javed Iqbal and Dr Manzoor Ahmad and others of the same calibre could be invited to lecture on Islam on TV.
General Musharraf regretted that the OIC had not been able to play its full role as the sole organization of the Ummah. He said that the Ummah was looking up to Pakistan as the only nuclear power and progressive state in the community. Regardless of General Musharraf's perception, however, hardly a day passes when Pakistani economic migrants are not either deported or thrown out of (even beheaded) Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states. Pakistan's national image as projected by these vagrants would be hardly flattering to any self-respecting sovereign state.
About his own uniform, by far the most sensitive issue concerning him personally, the opposition constitutionally and the army institutionally, General Musharraf maintained that it was not a matter of personal ego or vanity. It should be viewed realistically in the larger context of Pakistan's need to meet internal and external challenges.
What he would have to see and decide for himself is, firstly, whether he and his army command can do that on their own without full public participation? Secondly, what sort of an impact his adherence to uniform on the basis of an open-ended tenure as army chief would make on the institutional cohesiveness, systemic soundness, collective and individual loyalties, all the way down of his command.
I have had the privilege of attending - even organizing - such press meetings for the various army chiefs and also attending those as a columnist. General Musharraf's handling and responsiveness to the press and the intelligentsia in attendance was relaxed, stimulating and persuasive. He would neither dictate like Ayub nor spit out like Yahya nor twist like Zia. Musharraf responded to the most awkward question with composure.
What he might like to consider and decide for himself is whether from his "great indoors" he can really feel the pulse of the people.
- The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army.
The real state of real estate
Between January and June 2004, real estate prices in Karachi, particularly in the Defence and Clifton localities, rose by a phenomenal 60 to 80 per cent. In other localities like Gulshan-i-Iqbal and PECHS, the rise was about 30 per to 50 per cent. Overall, on average, city property rates jumped by about 40 to 60 per cent in the first six months of the year. Such a marked appreciation in so short a time has been unprecedented for the city.
The blame for this rise is being ascribed to speculators jumping on to the property bandwagon, particularly in the sale and purchase of residential and commercial plots. The lack of investment avenues and the huge returns notched up by punters seem to have put the market on fire.
Real estate agents say that while property prices can jump within a matter of days, it takes months or years for them to start receding. After the State Bank put restrictions on the financing of plot purchases, prices have started to ease. However, expecting real estate prices to come down to January 2004 levels "would be expecting too much," says property adviser Naeemur Rehman. The nearest timeframe given is January 2005, when some real estate agents feel property prices will start to dip on the back of easing demand.
The spurt in property prices also had an effect on city rentals, which have seen an increase of between 10 per cent to 30 per cent in some localities, particularly for commercial properties. Most of the conditions for the price surge have been created by the government, say many observers. The most glaring omission is the lack of new housing schemes or projects either in the public or in the private sector in the city. Despite many trumpeted plans, neither the federal government nor the provincial or city government has launched any meaningful housing schemes in the past five years to cater to the average annual demand for housing in a city which is regarded as the hub of commercial activity in the country.
The only exception has been the Defence Housing Authority. The rise in economic activity and improvement in the fundamentals of the economy have increased demand for property but this is being met only by the existing infrastructure or the DHA. This repressed demand was set alight by the liberalization and simplification of the housing finance sector as well as a diversion of investment from other avenues where returns were low. The easy availability of housing loans and affordable rates of interest empowered borrowers to bid at significantly higher rates for properties.
While this may have been one of the factors, the real culprit was the ease with which speculators could take housing loans and buy plots in lucrative areas, primarily in DHA. While the banks looked the other way, speculators made a killing. Taking loans at low interest rates or investing from money diverted from other avenues like the stock exchange, they went and bought properties whose value appreciated as speculative trends caught on. The end result was that most properties in Karachi went out of the reach of genuine buyers and speculators walked off with millions in the process. Such a situation has been prevailing over the past few months.
"The cost of any property is essentially the cost of the land. And most of the land is in the hands of speculators who are not interested in selling below what they have paid. This means real estate prices will remain high till the government steps in and increases supply by launching new housing schemes," says one estate agent. And that is not happening any time soon.
One sure shot way of bringing down property prices would be to ask buyers for details about the source of their funds at the time of transaction. The scare of tax scrutiny in 1999 brought down real estate prices in Karachi by about 50 per cent. But this kind of check is not about to take place any time soon. DHA Administrator Brig. Maqsood Hussain says that a check like this "is bound to bring down prices but money in circulation would come down significantly." Brig. Hussain says that the DHA can do this, "but it is our job to implement decisions not formulate them."
Despite claims of clean governance, the government has been reluctant to come down strongly on black money. This is evident in the manner it has dealt with the issue of premium in the sale of cars, another area that has been taken over by speculators. Despite the passage of several years, the problem of over-pricing persists while the government drags it feet on the issue on the plea that it would hurt the interests of the industry.
Bankers say that the bulk of real estate deals are still funded by private sources. One banker estimates that 20 per cent of housing deals are backed by housing loans. From the banking point of view, the housing finance business simply has not taken off.
State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Husain says that another major impediment relating to the housing sector is the problem of fraud in property documents, particularly for documents that relate to the city government. Banks are wary of advancing loans on the basis of CDGK title documents. This cuts off a substantial portion of the city's real estate. "We are never very sure of the genuineness of documents produced of areas other than Defence," says a bank official.
This means that people applying for loans in places other than DHA would have to bring in more documentation and even personal guarantees. This discrimination works in favour of the DHA by sending more buyers to it.
City government officials, however, are oblivious of this fact and only blame private housing societies for this practice. They also say there are no plans to computerize the land records department, which would help reduce forgeries and fraud.
Karachi Naib Nazim Tariq Hassan says the city government (which is the successor to the Karachi Development Authority) does not plan to launch any new scheme in the city. "We don't have the premier land needed to launch such schemes and we are also too busy sorting out the mess created in the past decade, particularly in schemes like the Malir Development Authority."
The Malir Development Authority Scheme is a unique example where the trust of people in government was shattered after the scheme was dubiously cancelled but the money paid by allottees was not refunded.
This is one of the few examples where a government development authority actually defrauded citizens. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad says that the MDA fiasco was one of the biggest challenges he has faced in his term in office. "Through a number of ways, I have managed to not only get the scheme revived but also get it back on track," the governor says.
It is ironic that the government is unable to come up with housing schemes on the grounds that it has no land to develop. The fact that the DHA has bought most of its land from the Sindh government only exposes the hollowness of the problem outlined by the CDGK.
The only scheme that may be launched in the next year would be a government employees housing scheme. This lack of interest in developing new housing schemes, say some observers, may be because the government wants to favour other developers in the city.
While the size of the DHA is not even one-tenth that of the city government, the bulk of new housing schemes in the city are being launched by the authority, which is also seeing its stake in the city growing as well as spreading.
From the present 16,000 acres, the DHA will grow by another 8,000 acres with the completion of Phase 8, which has seen the most of the speculative activity of the past few months. The step that helped stabilize prices in Phase 8 was the DHA's imposition of development charges to the tune of Rs1,000 per square yard.
Speculation that Phase 8 is where Karachi's proposed diplomatic enclave would be located also pushed up prices. But this has been contradicted. DHA sources say that they have proposed such an enclave on an adjoining island instead owing to lack of space in Phase 8.
DHA plans to develop its Phase 9 on the Super Highway for which about 12,000 acres has been acquired. Another scheme is expected in Malir Cantonment of a similar size while land has also been acquired off - the National Highway as well. " With the completion of these schemes, said to be in place within the decade, the DHA will become a substantial stakeholder in the city.
The interest in DHA, however, has more to do with security of investment. A. B. Affandi, who runs a real estate agency, says that DHA is one of the most poorly planned residential areas of the city. "Already you can see chaotic traffic conditions on many roads and in most areas, roads are very narrow. Apart from Khayaban-i-Hafiz and Sunset Boulevard, there is no proper footpath on most major roads," he points out. But he also adds that despite these obvious drawbacks, people invest in the DHA because they are sure that their investment is secure, unlike in other parts of the city "where you never know who would be sitting on your plot when you go there next."
The government's game plan, leaves out other real estate developers. The absence of the private sector in developing satellite towns or in developing large-scale real estate schemes within the city is glaring. The ambitious plan of the government to develop the housing and construction sector in a bid to boost economic activity and generate employment seems to have fallen flat.
The Association of Builders and Developers says that for the housing sector to take off, the government needs to address the issues that have been raised by various stakeholders. It says that the government should check land grabbing that is so common in the major cities of the country and introduce uniform building laws. Another problem that has been pointed out is the long delays faced by builders in providing utility services to housing schemes and the numerous NOCs that need to be obtained before one can actually transfer ownership. The demand for a one-window operation for these services as well as a need to reduce high transfer fees charges will encourage the real estate business, ABAD says.
The predicament facing many would-be home owners is whether, despite the present trend, would it be a good idea to get housing finance loans and take the plunge. Then there are those who say that interest rates are bound to rise soon and taking such large loans would not be a good idea. Many feel this is the time to act since they don't want to miss the boat while others are happy to wait it out on the expectation that real estate prices will start to dip as the market settles at more realistic levels.
Shad Azimabadi remembered
Hazrat Yaas Yagana Changezi, originally Yaas Azimabadi, a contemporary of Jigar Moradabadi and Firaq Gorakhpuri, was certainly a great master. Mirza Ghalib was his one "weakness" against whom he kept engaged in shadow-boxing throughout his life.
Mirza Yagana was a disciple of Shad Azimabad, who never left his home to earn fame and honour in distant lands - Lucknow or Delhi. Shad had many disciples, Yaas being one of them. Now we know of many others, thanks to Syed Namatullah, who with much effort has compiled a book containing biographical accounts of Shad's disciples.
The book, Talameza-i-Shad, was presented at a recent meeting held under th aegis of the Majlis-i-Ahbab-i-Millat, Karachi. Presided over by Khawaja Manzer Hasan Manzer, the gathering was addressed by Jameel Azimabadi, Muslim Shamim, A Khayyam, Rafiuddin Raaz and Qaiser Saleem. The speakers dwelt more on the life and works of Shad than on those of histalameza.
Till recent times, every 'ustad' used to keep a record of his disciples, their couplets and the corrections made by him for the benefit of other practitioners in the art of rhyme and poetry.
Syed Nematullah, who is a researcher, has painstakingly culled many scattered pieces about the junior poets of those times who were part of the literary culture of Azimabad during the latter part of the 19th century.
Referring to the literary quality of the book, Jameel Azimabadi said that Shad was a multi-faceted person, and, unluckily, many of his qualities were eclipsed by his reputation as a poet. Only a few people know that Shad was also a gifted prose writer, said A. Khyyam, when he referred to a statement coming from the great story writer Ghulam Abbas - that Shad Azimabadi was Urdu's first novelist, whose novel Sooratul Khyal was almost ignored by the critics.
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There lies a marriage hall in Ancholi Society (F.B Area), a serene and well-lit place in the evening hours, that incites book lovers to buy books of their choice at reasonable prices.
A publishing firm has established a tradition of holding a 'kitab mela' there every Ramazan. The mela runs through the entire month. It provides a welcome respite from the frenzied shopping all around. It draws a large member of visitors in the evening, and you find students, housewives and office workers browsing the books on display.
The publishers are happy to invite writers, journalists, poets, college teachers and intellectuals to the mela and present them with some books in addition to a cup of tea. This may be their way to build a relationship with readers, but that also helps promote a book culture in Karachi's barren environment. This writer found many old editions declared "out of print" by the fancier bookshops. Books on religion, Islamic history, classical poetry, and prose writings of masters like Hali and by modern writers, from Shafiqur Rahman to Colonel Mohammad Khan, were available at manageable prices.
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There was a time when one could not think of reading classics and writing poetry without an adequate knowledge of Persian. Ever since Persian was banished from our educational setup and is no longer required as a necessary acquisition for a cultured person, Urdu poetry is also losing its shine and sophistication.
This was observed by Prof Saher Ansari at the launch of Pervin Haider's nascent poetry collection, Harf Harf Aena. The sponsors of the function was the Institute of Aesthetics and culture, a literary body that holds monthly meetings at the KDA Officers Club, Kashmir Road. Wazahat Nasim, herself a poet, said Ms Haider's poetry was a whiff of fresh air. The other speakers included Naqqash Kazmi and Halim Sharar. Interestingly, poets appeared inclined to offer their compliments to Ms Haider through poetry. Sohail Ghazipuri, Raes Baghi, Kausar Naqvi and Tashna Barelvi recited their verses in admiration of the emerging poet.
Prof Saher Ansari praised Ms Haider for expressing her feelings in a sensitive manner, while some others thoughts the Persian influence had added to the poet's work.
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In last week's Literary Round-up (Nov 2) a couplet from Naqqash Kazmi was erroneously attributed to Anwaar Ahmad. The error is regretted.
Row over fishing rights in Badin coastal belt
The Rangers-fishermen dispute over fishing rights in Badin's coastal belt and the surrounding lakes has attained such intensity that only an early solution can bring normality to the area. A series of province-wide protests by fishermen in the recent days has now drawn the attention of the highest authorities.
The Senate has asked the interior ministry to submit in the upper house a report on the situation, and the Sindh government has formed a two-member committee, which has visited the area, talked to the victims of the alleged highhandedness of the Rangers and decided to settle the issue by the end of this month.
The dispute arose on the day the Rangers got rights for inland fishing in the Badin district. Opening to the sea, the coastal belt is exposed to illegal immigration and other unlawful activities, necessitating a strict watch in the area. As a result, the Thar Rangers were deployed along the belt for security purposes.
The people of the coastal belt are mostly engaged in fishing and their activities cover both the sea and the inland fishing water, i.e., the lakes. In the beginning it went well, but soon the Rangers began to take an interest in fishing and with the help of some influential people, got a contract. This created a wedge between the Rangers and the fishermen.
Very little was known about what had been going on till some two weeks ago, when the Rangers prohibited local fishermen from fishing in the inland waters, established checkpoints, and resorted to strict measures against the villagers, in which even women and children were not spared. Newspaper reports suggest that some personnel entered fishermen's houses, beat them up and arrested them - many of them are still in various lock-ups. They also established checkpoints deep up to Seerani, Ahmad Rajo and Bhugra Memon, places far away from the coast.
The award of fishing rights in Sindh has been a disputed issue since Ayub Khan's era. Before that, these rights were leased out to local fishermen. But with the objective of extending the benefit to some influential people, a system of open auction was introduced which affected the fishermen because they could not match the highest bid. After a long struggle, the government agreed to lease the rights only to genuine fishermen. This was again flouted in one way or the other, but somehow the system continued to work.
The task of awarding fishing contracts was assigned to the Sindh fisheries department in line with the past practice. How the Thar Rangers acquired a contract for the sea belt and some lakes inside the district is not known. The fishermen are employed by the Rangers and are paid for their catch. At present, the Rangers have rights to 21 lakes inside the coastal belt, for which they are said to be paying Rs32.5 million to the fisheries department.
An unwanted situation developed when the fishermen demanded that they should be paid according to market rates and allowed to fish in waters not covered by the Rangers' contract. The fishermen say they are paid from Rs70 to Rs100 per 12 kg for prawns and shrimps which are sold for over Rs1,500 in the open market. This upset the Rangers who reportedly resorted to reprisals, including the arrest of some active fishermen.
It is strange that how a law-enforcement force deployed in one of the most sensitive areas could engage in a commercial activity. Similar other organizations like Shaheen, Askari, Bahria, Police foundations, etc., have also taken up commercial activities, but their personnel are not in active service. If the Thar Rangers have an interest in fishing business, they should also use non-serving personnel for the purpose, observing the rules of the business.
Badin district is one of the areas badly hit by sea incursion. The intrusion by sea has affected the regions of aquaculture. A seminar on sea incursion held in Karachi on Oct 7 warned of ecological degradation of the delta, especially depletion of fish population.
The committee appointed by the Sindh government has made inquiries and is in the process of making suggestions to resolve the issue. Apparently, there does not seem to be any other solution than to abolish the contract system for fishing. The Rangers should be asked to move their checkpoints to their original positions, and told to stick to their assigned task of security, instead of interfering in villagers' and fishermen's rights.
The people respect their law-enforcers, but coercion can unnecessarily drive a wedge between the two.