Roofs over our heads
It seems that putting your entire life saving into buying a small roof to cover your head in seemingly government-approved projects is no longer a safe bet in the country’s largest metropolis. Ever since the Supreme Court directed blowing up the illegally constructed Nasla Tower in Karachi last month, people have been wondering if their certified construction will be next. Now, the ruling party in Sindh has passed a resolution in the provincial assembly to effectively grant protection to not only Nasla Tower but many other such structures as well. It has done nothing to assuage public anxiety because they do not know who to trust anymore.
The resolution, presented by PPP’s Nida Khuro, is claimed to be in line with the party’s objective of providing shelter to residents of the tower and other such properties. The resolution says that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that citizens and their investments are secured. But how can the government continue to claim that it will safeguard investments of citizens if it cannot assure that their allotment certificates will remain valid in a court. As opposition members pointed out, the resolution and promises of a new law will only create a rift with the apex court while it will not protect residents.
The fact is that the Nasla Tower is just the latest project which has been found to have blatantly flouted building laws by not only encroaching on more than allotted space but also criminally blocking waterways. Moreover, the party — whose resolution did not specifically name Nasla Tower to be all-encompassing — has not acted with similar intent when shops were torn down around Empress Market or when demolitions were being carried out in Gujjar Nala. The court’s orders to relocate or compensate residents of Gujjar Nala have yet to be acted upon either.
Unless the root cause of all such constructions is addressed per established laws, there can be no solution.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2021.
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