ONE major factor contributing to urban decay and mismanagement of Pakistan’s cities is the fact that multiple landowners stand as a hurdle in the way of central planning of metropolitan areas. This is definitely the case in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest metropolis, but other cities also suffer from the same problem. A plethora of agencies — federal, provincial, autonomous bodies etc — control parcels of land, creating a jigsaw puzzle of jurisdictions. Former mayor of Karachi Waseem Akhtar had at one time complained that his options of city management were limited because 15 different agencies controlled land in the city. Though there are different figures regarding the exact number of land-controlling agencies, independent experts back this claim, mentioning cantonments, the KPT, Railways and others as owners of land in Karachi, besides the city administration. Perhaps one solution has emerged from across the eastern border that can help improve the management of urban land in Pakistan. According to media reports, Indian authorities have decided to do away with most cantonments. These will be rebranded as ‘military stations’, while civilian areas of cantonments will be handed over to municipal authorities. It should be mentioned that our Supreme Court had ruled in 2007 that civilian areas should be excluded from cantonment boards, but the court’s order has not been implemented.

Cantonments are a vestige of the country’s colonial past, and in most instances include civilian areas that have nothing to do with military activities. While these areas may have been separate from the civilian parts of cities during the British era, the rapid, unplanned growth of our urban areas has resulted in many cantonments merging with the urban sprawl. For the health and growth of our cities, land management and planning should be under elected mayors, with input from subdivisions such as towns and union councils. This would be in keeping with the constitutional vision of local government — a vision many of our political parties have tried their best to thwart. Moreover, it would be better from a security point of view if exclusively military facilities were located outside urban areas. Giving control of cities to elected mayors would help solve many financial and planning issues our urban areas face. A first step can be taken by giving areas falling under the jurisdiction of cantonment boards that have no ostensible military utility back to the civilian administration.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2023