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| March 12, 2007 | Monday | Safar 22, 1428 |
Tasks that need will, not money
LAHORE, March 11: Insanitary conditions, encroachments, unbridled commercialisation and poor condition of roads are some of the problems being witnessed by Lahorites since decades with no hope of end to their sufferings.
Most of these problems do not need extra money but a little extra effort from nearly 50,000 CDGL and town employees who cost the taxpayers a huge sum of over Rs12 billion per annum in shape of salaries and other perks.
The CDGL authorities claim they are helpless because powers for carrying out most of the municipal tasks rest with town administrations. Those at the helms of affairs in the towns say that rather the CDGL is denying them several rights given under the Punjab Local Government Ordinance. There are officials who admit that lack of coordination and monitoring, wrong priorities and corrupt practices by the staff are main reasons of the prevailing mess.
For the ongoing financial year, the CDGL has earmarked Rs6.7519 billion as non-development budget, LDA Rs1,131.948 million, Wasa around Rs1,000 million, TEPA Rs39 million, Ravi Town Rs40 million, Data Gunj Bakhsh Rs64.2 million, Iqbal Town Rs93.7 million, Gulberg Rs47.5 million, Aziz Bhatti Rs27 million, Samanabad Rs47.4 million, Wahga Rs40 million Shalimar Rs40 million and Nishtar Town Rs30 million.
Despite this huge allocation, the first thing that catches one’s attention on entering the municipal limits is the littering of city roads and streets with solid waste. There are over 10,0000 employees on the payroll of the solid waste management department. Some of the appointments, it is alleged, are ghost while there are others who do duties at the residences of big guns, not only of the CDGL but also of the provincial administration.
Most of the sweepers who do come to serve the ordinary citizens sweep anything but the garbage for their “efforts” are restricted to changing the position of the refuse from one corner of the street to the other. The department’s staff costs taxpayers at least Rs700 million every year.
Likewise, clearing sewers and repairing leaking water supply lines do not require funds but efficient utilization of the workforce. One has to use contacts with the high-ups, if any, for an early escape from the foul smell of oozing gutters in one’s vicinity since most of the complaints lodged with relevant offices of the agency either fall on deaf ears or draw belated response.
Operating expenditures of Wasa are Rs2,400 million. Of these around Rs1,000 million are meant for salaries and other perks of the staff.
The Lahore Development Authority incurs Rs1,131.948 million non-development expenditure each year to maintain about 2,500 officials. Going by the number of violations of building bylaws in LDA-controlled area, it seems the authority is so much understaffed that monitoring the ongoing illegalities and ensuring safety of buildings is difficult, if not impossible.
Inquiries are held and surveys are conducted after each incident of building collapse and what happens later on is not known. Several promises were made about implementing the building code and warnings were issued to LDA officials conniving with owners violating by-laws after the collapse of a plaza in Shah Alam Market last year. But nothing happened since then as neither the owner nor the officials responsible have so far been fixed.
Encroachments are another burning issue of the town in the knowledge of everyone but the CDGL and the LDA. A half-hearted campaign is launched time and again but only against chhabri and rehriwalas. Those who have and are erecting big structures at state land, green belts and parks or covering a certain part of roads and streets in front of their businesses are free to go by their sweet will. Owners of these plazas and shops rather charge rehriwalas a handsome amount for doing business in front of their respective buildings.
Likewise, a number of dangerous and rundown buildings collapse during each rainy season but nothing has been done so far to raze such structures.
The story is not different as far as epidemic and environment control measures are concerned. Scores of industrial units operating in the municipal limits are a major source of pollution in the absence of an effective monitoring and check from CDGL’s environment wing.
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