Multiple controls over urban land in Karachi
By Masood H.Kizilbash
There are two yardsticks for measuring poverty. One is based on ââ¬Ëpoverty lineââ¬â¢ income that allows individuals or households to meet their needs such as minimum food basket for calories intake. The other takes into account not only average income but non-food essentials, such as, housing, health care, water, sanitation, education, roads, transport etc.
Recent heavy rains in Karachi and miseries that its citizens ââ¬â the rich class living in posh areas and the poor living in slums and ââ¬Ëkatchchi abadisââ¬â¢ equally suffered. No amount of money or resources can buy access to available potable power, health care, transport and electricity and even a comfortable sleep if maintenance and development of civic amenities is long ignored by the government as well as its citizens. Karachi was a small capital city of the province of Sindh with a population of about 200,000 and was rated as the cleanest city of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent at the time of partition. It became the seat of the federal capital, following refusal of the request by the government of Punjab and acceptance by government of Sindh to provide territory for it. Thus, the control of Karachi district passed to federal government on August 14, 1947.
Following the establishment of Karachi as the federal capital, the newly-born state was confronted with myriad problems.
A serious problem related to providing housing accommodation to the federal government servants who migrated to Karachi from Delhi, exercising their right to serve the government of Pakistan.
The problem assumed an alarming proportion due to the influx of refugees. The federal government set out to provide accommodation to the government servants by constructing quarters and flats on the open unutilised land in Karachi district which stood ââ¬Ëtransferredââ¬â¢ to the federal government by the provincial government.
At the same time, in order to provide shelter to the refugees, the federal government granted leasehold rights to the cooperative housing societies on the unutilised available barren lands in the district for construction of houses.
The problem was so acute that in some cases the government, starved of resources and organisational structures, granted leasehold rights on lands to private construction companies for construction of quarters for sub-leasing to interested shelter-starved population.
At the same time, in order to grapple with the problem of shortage of office accommodation, new blocks and buildings were constructed in the city without drawing an urban development plan for the city.
Karachi was endowed with the strategic location of a natural port. Other infrastructure facilities such as water, electricity, roads and railways were also available.
The refugees who migrated to this city possessed technical skills in textiles, leather, carpets, oil seed extraction, small steel items, furniture etc.
The government encouraged migration of small to medium type industrialists and bankers from India who brought their capital in a resource - starved country.
It gave an unprecedented boost to economic life, so much so that the federal government banned setting up of any industry in Karachi district in 1959. However, the momentum of economic growth of the city continued unabated in the outskirts of the district.
Economic growth of the city attracted a large number of migrants from all parts of the country either for seeking employment or setting up small to large size manufacturing industries, banks, insurance companies, import and export houses, wholesale and retail outlets and service industries.
The city population which stood at mere 200,000 in 1947 had, according to 1998 census, soared to nearly 9.6 million mark in 1998 and is now estimated to have swelled to 13.4 million in 2005. Truly, it has become an industrial, financial and commercial centre and contributes nearly 56 per cent in overall federal tax revenues.
The spectacular economic growth of Karachi has given a rise to a number of negative fallouts.
These include a rising crime rate, breakdown of rule of law, deterioration in infrastructure, poor sanitation, water shortages, lack of solid waste management, air pollution, land grabbing and encroachments for construction of shelter and commercial and industrial establishments, use of residential houses for commercial purposes and conversion of residential houses/quarters into high rise commercial buildings.
With an unplanned growth, the city has developed into a mega-city with mafias of land grabbers and encroachers as well as several agencies exercising control over land and land-use.
This coterie of land mafia and the agencies is too powerful for the local government as well as civil society organisations to resist. This is evident from the piecemeal and isolated initiatives taken by the civil society organisations or ââ¬Ëplannedââ¬â¢ by the local government are thwarted.
Mega-cities will continue to grow in population, giving birth to some negative fallout and making the life of its citizens ââ¬â whether rich or poor ââ¬â not worth living.
The cities all over the world have experienced and are experiencing this phenomenon and through large scale urban renewal programmes have either solved or are on the way to solving their civic problems.
Master plans as a traditional tool for urban development, adopted by the rich countries being costly and unaffordable by the majority of urban citizens in developing countries has been replaced with by a number of approaches of urban planning to suit local conditions.
But no serious effort appears to be on card for developing and modernising civic facilities in Karachi.
Even if a master plan or a strategic urban development plan or an integrated development plan or a structural plan is eventually put in place, the real challenge will be its implementation. The major problems are as follows:
The first major challenge is Karachi is under the control of as many as 19 agencies. These include various ministries of federal government which were leased out lands either for specific projects or for housing between 1947 and 1959 when Karachi remained under the administrative control of the federal government as federal capital.
Between 1959 and 1969, the West Pakistan government leased out lands to various provincial agencies and cooperative societies and between 1969 and to-date the Sindh government has given lands on lease to the federal agencies, provincial departments and cooperative societies.
Thus, the real estate is in the hands of a host of agencies including seven Cantonment Boards, Railways, Karachi Port Trust, Port Bin Qasim, Export Processing Zone Authority and Civil Aviation Department etc.
These agencies have their own land- use plans, building regulations, laws and bye-laws notwithstanding the purpose for which the land was leased out to them. These agencies are likely to resist an overall plan for urban renewal.
The second challenge will come from the land grabbers whose vital interests will be threatened.
Finally, there may be resistance from the groups of stakeholders who may be adversely affected on account of dislocation of their business establishments or the hutments and houses under an urban renewal plan.
The issue of urban renewal in Karachi is indeed a difficult problem for an agency or the government alone to solve.
The citizens have to organise, mobilise and lobby for it, no matter if some of them have to make a sacrifice in terms of ââ¬Ådislocationââ¬Â that an urban renewal porgramme may entail. But those dislocated should be fully compensated.
http://www.dawn.com/2006/09/04/ebr9.htm
By Masood H.Kizilbash
There are two yardsticks for measuring poverty. One is based on ââ¬Ëpoverty lineââ¬â¢ income that allows individuals or households to meet their needs such as minimum food basket for calories intake. The other takes into account not only average income but non-food essentials, such as, housing, health care, water, sanitation, education, roads, transport etc.
Recent heavy rains in Karachi and miseries that its citizens ââ¬â the rich class living in posh areas and the poor living in slums and ââ¬Ëkatchchi abadisââ¬â¢ equally suffered. No amount of money or resources can buy access to available potable power, health care, transport and electricity and even a comfortable sleep if maintenance and development of civic amenities is long ignored by the government as well as its citizens. Karachi was a small capital city of the province of Sindh with a population of about 200,000 and was rated as the cleanest city of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent at the time of partition. It became the seat of the federal capital, following refusal of the request by the government of Punjab and acceptance by government of Sindh to provide territory for it. Thus, the control of Karachi district passed to federal government on August 14, 1947.
Following the establishment of Karachi as the federal capital, the newly-born state was confronted with myriad problems.
A serious problem related to providing housing accommodation to the federal government servants who migrated to Karachi from Delhi, exercising their right to serve the government of Pakistan.
The problem assumed an alarming proportion due to the influx of refugees. The federal government set out to provide accommodation to the government servants by constructing quarters and flats on the open unutilised land in Karachi district which stood ââ¬Ëtransferredââ¬â¢ to the federal government by the provincial government.
At the same time, in order to provide shelter to the refugees, the federal government granted leasehold rights to the cooperative housing societies on the unutilised available barren lands in the district for construction of houses.
The problem was so acute that in some cases the government, starved of resources and organisational structures, granted leasehold rights on lands to private construction companies for construction of quarters for sub-leasing to interested shelter-starved population.
At the same time, in order to grapple with the problem of shortage of office accommodation, new blocks and buildings were constructed in the city without drawing an urban development plan for the city.
Karachi was endowed with the strategic location of a natural port. Other infrastructure facilities such as water, electricity, roads and railways were also available.
The refugees who migrated to this city possessed technical skills in textiles, leather, carpets, oil seed extraction, small steel items, furniture etc.
The government encouraged migration of small to medium type industrialists and bankers from India who brought their capital in a resource - starved country.
It gave an unprecedented boost to economic life, so much so that the federal government banned setting up of any industry in Karachi district in 1959. However, the momentum of economic growth of the city continued unabated in the outskirts of the district.
Economic growth of the city attracted a large number of migrants from all parts of the country either for seeking employment or setting up small to large size manufacturing industries, banks, insurance companies, import and export houses, wholesale and retail outlets and service industries.
The city population which stood at mere 200,000 in 1947 had, according to 1998 census, soared to nearly 9.6 million mark in 1998 and is now estimated to have swelled to 13.4 million in 2005. Truly, it has become an industrial, financial and commercial centre and contributes nearly 56 per cent in overall federal tax revenues.
The spectacular economic growth of Karachi has given a rise to a number of negative fallouts.
These include a rising crime rate, breakdown of rule of law, deterioration in infrastructure, poor sanitation, water shortages, lack of solid waste management, air pollution, land grabbing and encroachments for construction of shelter and commercial and industrial establishments, use of residential houses for commercial purposes and conversion of residential houses/quarters into high rise commercial buildings.
With an unplanned growth, the city has developed into a mega-city with mafias of land grabbers and encroachers as well as several agencies exercising control over land and land-use.
This coterie of land mafia and the agencies is too powerful for the local government as well as civil society organisations to resist. This is evident from the piecemeal and isolated initiatives taken by the civil society organisations or ââ¬Ëplannedââ¬â¢ by the local government are thwarted.
Mega-cities will continue to grow in population, giving birth to some negative fallout and making the life of its citizens ââ¬â whether rich or poor ââ¬â not worth living.
The cities all over the world have experienced and are experiencing this phenomenon and through large scale urban renewal programmes have either solved or are on the way to solving their civic problems.
Master plans as a traditional tool for urban development, adopted by the rich countries being costly and unaffordable by the majority of urban citizens in developing countries has been replaced with by a number of approaches of urban planning to suit local conditions.
But no serious effort appears to be on card for developing and modernising civic facilities in Karachi.
Even if a master plan or a strategic urban development plan or an integrated development plan or a structural plan is eventually put in place, the real challenge will be its implementation. The major problems are as follows:
The first major challenge is Karachi is under the control of as many as 19 agencies. These include various ministries of federal government which were leased out lands either for specific projects or for housing between 1947 and 1959 when Karachi remained under the administrative control of the federal government as federal capital.
Between 1959 and 1969, the West Pakistan government leased out lands to various provincial agencies and cooperative societies and between 1969 and to-date the Sindh government has given lands on lease to the federal agencies, provincial departments and cooperative societies.
Thus, the real estate is in the hands of a host of agencies including seven Cantonment Boards, Railways, Karachi Port Trust, Port Bin Qasim, Export Processing Zone Authority and Civil Aviation Department etc.
These agencies have their own land- use plans, building regulations, laws and bye-laws notwithstanding the purpose for which the land was leased out to them. These agencies are likely to resist an overall plan for urban renewal.
The second challenge will come from the land grabbers whose vital interests will be threatened.
Finally, there may be resistance from the groups of stakeholders who may be adversely affected on account of dislocation of their business establishments or the hutments and houses under an urban renewal plan.
The issue of urban renewal in Karachi is indeed a difficult problem for an agency or the government alone to solve.
The citizens have to organise, mobilise and lobby for it, no matter if some of them have to make a sacrifice in terms of ââ¬Ådislocationââ¬Â that an urban renewal porgramme may entail. But those dislocated should be fully compensated.
http://www.dawn.com/2006/09/04/ebr9.htm
