EVEN with billions of donor dollars earmarked for Karachi’s revitalisation projects, transforming the city into a livable place requires tackling chronic corruption, poor governance and mismanagement. Recently, a damning report, authored by a Supreme Court-appointed one-man judicial commission, on water quality and drainage in Sindh called out various inadequacies in supply schemes and water lines. During its investigations, visits were conducted to various districts by the commission to meet key officials to ascertain the severity of the water crisis. Censuring the provincial leadership for its abject failure to allocate and leverage resources, the report’s findings reveal Sindh lacks operational water treatment plants; untreated sewage continues to flow into water meant for irrigation at 750 points across the province; there are no sewage treatment plants; hospitals are devoid of essential waste disposal systems; and outpatient wards are choked with sewage and garbage. In a nutshell, it is an indictment of an elected political party at the tail end of its term — for years, the provincial government has failed to provide water fit for human consumption. Moreover, water scarcity because of distribution inequalities has led to an illegal tanker mafia selling water at exorbitant rates to desperate consumers. Although the government has allocated funds for filter plants in Karachi and other water supply and drainage projects, as always the challenge is to ensure that plans are completed.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah may voice reservations over the judiciary’s interference in administrative matters but his government needs to stop vacillating and get the job done. If upgrading the overall civic fabric — particularly infrastructure, service provision and governance — needs competent engineers and consultants, then they should be hired without delay. It is the failure of our elected leaders to provide basic necessities that compels citizens to petition higher courts for relief. Surely, mechanisms for clean drinking water in a city where the vast majority lives in informal and unplanned settlements is also one way of controlling the spread of disease. Clearing effluent-stacked irrigation canals contributes to averting a public health crisis. As with all megacities across the world, Karachi’s governance and the costs associated with service provision pose a Herculean challenge. So for supply to keep up with the demands of a burgeoning population, it is imperative to improve resource management and practice transparency.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2018