FOR the coming months, President General Pervez Musharraf will be preoccupied with the issue of his remaining in his army uniform, and his prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, will share his preoccupation.

If and when Shaukat has time to spare, it will be spent in organizing, pacifying, and trying to keep busy his battalions of ministers, trainee ministers of state, advisers, his various parliamentary appointees who number around 140. (According to Pakistan’s political culture, it is customary to reward parliamentarians for unusual services rendered in the national interest by providing positions and perks.) So neither the president nor the prime minister will be able to help stem or stop the on-going violation of the city of Karachi.

For over a quarter of a century, Karachi, with its ever increasing population, now standing somewhere around 14 million, has not had a properly qualified master planner.

Of late, Syed Zaigham Jaffery, who lays no claim to being a master planner, has filled the post. He is a fiscally honest man, but is susceptible to manipulation — some claim only up to a point, others say completely. Last month, the city fathers moved Zaigham.

In his place, EDO (BCGO) CDGK EDO (BCGO) CDGK, in other words, the chief controller of buildings of the Karachi Building Control Authority, the mucch retired army tennis champion, Brigadier A S Nasir, neither an architect nor an engineer, but who is seemingly supported by influential godfathers, installed one of his building controllers, Attiq Beg. Beg is a grade 18 officer now holding a grade 20 post. He is not an engineer, he is not an urban designer or a master planner, and the brigadier has no authority to promote him, let alone give him a double promotion.

If General Musharraf must fill civilian posts with retired army personnel, can he not, for our sake, send us competent men who are suitably qualified for their individual positions and can thus do some good? Some years ago, we did have a good man posted as CCOB of the KBCA, a retired brigadier, a qualified engineer, Zafar Malik. Unfortunately, he died at his post with his retired boots on.

However, we must show some gratitude to our governor, Ishratul Ibad, who seems to have finally awoken. On September 6, City Nazim Naimatullah received a letter from the governor’s secretariat :

“Lately a number of cases have been reported/observed where the KBCA has granted approval of commercial buildings in already thickly populated areas of Karachi without taking into consideration the improvement/enhancement in the infrastructure of the basic amenities. Although, the improvement/ enhancement of the infrastructure is the responsibility of the town planning section, this aspect has to be considered [because of] multifaceted related problems.

“The government is spending millions on the improvement of roads. However, one choked drain in the area ruins the whole road. It may be realized that the present town planning catered to a 1,000 sq yards plot for a maximum of a 20 to 30-person family. However, by commercializing it, the same plot will now cater for at least 500-plus persons. This enhanced load cannot be borne by the sewerage lines laid 20 to 30 years earlier.

Moreover, this enhanced population also overloads the other basic amenities. A person who plans to live in a peaceful neighbourhood is now haunted by commercial complexes in front of or adjacent to his residential plot.

The bye-laws of private housing societies/cooperative housing societies are being blatantly violated by KBCA [which is] approving the construction of ground + 6 floors, where only ground + 1 floor, as per the bye-laws, is allowed.

“Similarly, commercial complexes are being approved at vital junctions/intersections without considering their affect on the already hazardous traffic of the city.

“The city is gradually turning [into] a jungle of apartment blocks without any consideration whatsoever [of] its fallout on the environment and the citizens of this city. It is high time the commercialization policy is rationalized before the city turns into a virtual dump of poorly constructed/managed flats. The further defacing of the city cannot be afforded nor can it be further allowed.

“In view of the foregoing, the governor has desired that the City Nazim may hold a meeting with the EDO (Building Control), EDO (water & sewerage), the town planning section of CDGK, members of reputable NGOs, and other stakeholders so as to streamline a policy guideline for improving the infrastructure of the basic amenities and to rationalize the commercialization policy. He has further desired that commercialization must not be at the cost of the city’s citizens.

“It is therefore requested that you convene a meeting with all stakeholders to resolve the issue once and for all. Action initiated in this regard may please be communicated to this secretariat for perusal of the governor latest by 20 September 20, 2004.”

The people, of course, will expect no action before mid-2005.

What should also be brought to the attention of the people of Karachi is the case of a half-acre park on the Clifton sea-front, ST-30/2, which lies between two high-rise apartment buildings. It has been grabbed by a builder, allegedly in collusion with officials of the KMC/CDGK. In this regard, Justice Mushir Alam of the Sindh High Court, in suit No.1319/99 in his order of March 8, 2004, has stated :

“.....the public functionaries in cases where public interest is involved are duty bound to protect such interest being custodians and trustees of public property such as amenity areas and parks. As observed above, public functionaries, either by design or by default, do not defend the public cause with due diligence. Where it appears to the courts that through schematic maneuvring the public is being duped and either by design or [by] default the public cause is being negotiated to the detriment of the public at large the courts are not expected to remain mute and do nothing.......

... the public trust in state functionaries has been shattered to a great extent. ... the defendants (KMC) have not discharged the duties as required by them in properly defending the cause of the public. It is perhaps for this reason, in this metropolitan city of Karachi, that the courts are now giving more credence to the assistance of non-governmental organizations.

One such organization that has earned credibility is ‘Citizens for a Better Environment (Shehri: CBE)’, which is engaged in protecting and defending the public cause relating to misuse of land and of constructions raised in violation of building laws and regulations. In a number of cases, either on application or on its own motion, courts have joined them as party to the procedures....

“Under the circumstances, I also deem it expedient to order joinder of Shehri as a party to the suit to represent the interest of public at large......... Both the parties are directed to supply copies of their respective pleadings to Shehri CBE.” (It took the two colluding parties six months to do so.)

E-mail: arfc@cyber.net.pk