KARACHI, Aug 15: With a contingent of some 20 personnel and three vehicles, the city government cannot enforce all municipal rules and regulations within the precinct of all towns through its community policing plan any time soon.

In his budget speech for the financial year 2006-07, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal had announced that community policing would be introduced at the town level. In this regard, Rs20 million had been allocated.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that the concept behind introducing the community policing system was enforcement of municipal rules and regulations by imposing fines on the perpetrators of municipal crimes.

However, the city government could only manage to establish a community police department with 20 personnel and three vehicles in its municipal services group of offices during the previous financial year and its function was limited to traffic management and removal of encroachment, if any, from the signal-free corridor.

Under the city government’s original plan, the community police can take action against violators for discharging dangerous chemicals in drain, sewers, public water courses or public land; supply or marketing of potable water suspected to be dangerous to public health; adulteration; violators of master plan; obstructing or tampering with any road, street, drain or pavement; burying/burning a body at a place other than a public place or a registered burial/burning place; playing loud music or radio, kite flying in contravention of any general or specific prohibition issued by local governments; digging of public land without permission etc.

The sources maintained that implementation of the original plan might take extra time keeping in view limited resources and staff shortage.

“The city nazim has delegated a number of responsibilities to the municipal services department making it difficult for its head to pay attention towards the community policing project,” said a source. He said that there was a dire need to give the responsibility of raising the community police to any dedicated officer on a war footing, otherwise the project might fail to take off in its real spirit.

The sources said that the city government would soon hire 180 more personnel on a contract basis. After the completion of the hiring process, they said the community policing would begin at town and union council levels.

They said the community police officials would work in accordance with Section 146D of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, which says that in case of any serious threat to public health, safety or welfare or danger to life and property, an official may, in his area of jurisdiction, in addition to imposition of fine or initiating prosecution under the ordinance can suspend any work; seize goods; seal the premises; demolish or remove work; and issue directions for taking corrective measures in the time specified by him.

It may be noted that the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had its own police force but the city government has lacked such a force since the introduction of the devolution system in 2001.