The Trunk review: Modern marriage & murder
One of the most populated cities in the world and Pakistan's financial centre, Karachi has been suffering and struggling with civic problems for decades. The issues range from inadequate sewerage system, deteriorating infrastructure to broken roads and lack of water. The metropolis is a case study in urban mismanagement despite its economic importance.
The complicated system of bureaucratic red tape, political blame games, and institutional inefficiencies frequently result from the question of who is in charge of handling these civic issues.
There are numerous federal, provincial, and local government entities involved in Karachi's disjointed and multi-layered governance structure. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is responsible for planning and maintaining the entire city, but it is limited in its ability to do so due to administrative and financial constraints. The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), on the other hand, is in charge of maintaining sewerage systems and supplying drinkable water. However, that too has come under fire with accusations of inefficiency and corruption.
Many organisations, such as the Sindh Government and several federal agencies, too frequently avoid local authorities, causing a backlog in execution, and have considerable power over Karachi's resources and decision-making.
In many areas of Karachi, groups of residents have been managing and resolving the civic issues in their localities. Such management societies collect maintenance fees from each house, and that amount is later used to resolve issues such as building broken roads, new water supply lines, sewerage pipes even.
Are they legally allowed to dig up government-owned streets and use ad-hoc basis workers to install new water and sewerage lines?
“Making a road, putting up a new or even fixing any line is not as easy as we think, as we need several permissions and have to pay a whole lot of money to the organisations even to do it ourselves,” said Muhammad Hassan Ali, who has been in an administrative society for 15 years. Ali said that when the society was built, the population was not the same, as today it has increased by 200 per cent. The need for water, sewerage, and parking has also increased to cater to such issues.
Recently, his society had a sewerage issue for which the management committee collected funds and had to go through a rigorous process of permission and charges such as challan. Then they installed a new sewerage line to cope with the issue of stagnant filthy water in the streets.
Similarly, Ali and his society laid Envicrete on the streets in their residential block with the help of funds. “In such cases, a few people do not contribute by using the excuse that they live on rent and making a new road or installing a new line will not favour them in the long term. Then the burden falls on the management mostly, and we have to deal with such issues which are ultimately the responsibility of the city's administration to resolve,” the chairman of the society committee shared.
While areas under KMC face challenges, those under Cantonment are not much better off. Sana Zubairi, a representative of the DHA Phase 2 residents' community, highlighted that over the past four years, they have been working with various stakeholders to address ongoing issues such as security, greenery, animal welfare, and road construction.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, we created a WhatsApp group to monitor and assist the elderly in our area. Over time, this group evolved into a community that identified and addressed local issues. We collaborated with the police, Rangers and traffic department to enhance security and tackle theft in the area," Zubairi explained. She added that gradually, they began engaging with more departments, consistently reaching out for assistance and collaboration.
To begin with the residents’ community requested DHA Vigilance to enhance security in their area. In response, four policemen on two bikes were assigned to patrol the streets and monitor street crime. “When we asked for greenbelts, many community members contributed plants and caretakers, while the authorities provided water and maintenance. That's how we collaborate,” she explained.
At first, they found it difficult to get the authorities to take their complaints seriously. However, a dedicated team of five to seven people would regularly visit the CBC and DHA offices, submitting letters outlining their community’s demands and grievances. Over the past four years, this persistence led to improved and more timely collaborations.
"As far as roads and infrastructure are concerned, we don't contribute directly. Instead we write to the authorities pointing out areas in need of repairs," Zubairi shared. While they cannot handle everything on their own, such as installing sewerage lines or street poles, they do take steps like adding lights to their houses to ensure the streets are well-lit.
While the authorities are accountable for repairs, Zubairi pointed out that residents also have a role to play in improving their surroundings. “There are certain responsibilities that residents must take on as well. In our case, we pushed harder to be heard and to get the work done, but collective effort from everyone is essential to make the environment better,” she emphasised.
As an example of when residents make their own situations worse, almost every housing society and town where the area was provided with water and sewerage lines for one-unit houses now has three to four-floor buildings while the supply lines are still the same. This results in overflowing due to increased number of residents. “[Housing] societies were made through a master plan and were allotted water and sewerage lines accordingly. But if the societies exploit the usage, then obviously it will impact the supply lines,” said Amber Alibhai, general secretary of Shehri, an NGO working for urban development.
Legal rigmarole
According to law, utilities such as water and sewers must be handled by specified agencies as public goods. It may be unlawful to perform unauthorised work on public infrastructure, such as installing sewage lines or making changes to drainage systems. “There are two practices in the scenario, one where the society or the management takes permission from the KWSB and then installs a new line or mends the existing one; the second practice is to talk to the line-men of the area and they can charge money and install a supply line,” said the general secretary.
People who build infrastructure on public property or state-owned land face legal action under the laws. This is especially important when planned urban designs are disrupted by community endeavors. “We can’t blame the KWSB or KMC for everything and anything because in such scenarios citizens must not misuse or exploit the land when they built more than allowed and allocated. Why blame exploding lines on the system?” she lamented, adding that in recent times KWSB and all such organisations have become more responsive to the civic issues and they try to assist when anyone approaches them for installation of new lines or expanding of supply lines.
Unauthorised changes to water and sewer systems could jeopardise safety regulations and result in liability for infrastructure-related losses. Encouraging citizens to handle civic concerns could compromise the function of the state and result in a chaotic precedent where unchecked efforts cause more problems than they solve. “If a reasonable request is made, then the system will allow it but demanding a 12-inch supply line where only 6-inch is allocated won’t be allowed because, eventually, it will create a problem when the main line gets trapped, and it will get flooded from one end,” Amber explained. One of the main reasons why the practice is discouraged that people shouldn’t be involved in unauthorized changes to supply lines is because each area is designated to lines in terms of depth because the basic rule of thumb is water lines will be deeper than the sewerage lines just so they can’t be contaminated and punctured easily, she added.
Collaboration between municipal, provincial, and federal institutions is frequently impeded by political rivalries because they depend on inadequate funding from higher governmental levels, and local governments have little control over how much money is generated. “KWSB and other organisations have millions of budgets, but they only work for main roads and arteries as VIPs don’t see streets and small towns even if line damages or roads are in dilapidated forms,” said union council chairman Junaid Mukati. Given the fact that the population of the city is exploding, the system is finding it difficult to keep up with the rapid, unplanned urbanisation that has overloaded the infrastructure.
Mishandling money and resources worsens ineffective service delivery. “The problem is the organisations that have budgets only work for main roads and don’t pay heed to what the small streets are facing. We are left with UC and town budget which are insufficient,” said the UC chairman of Jamaat-e-Islami. He also said that even when the UC constructs a street, KWSB makes bills and gets more from the water board for something the UC has done.
Several neighbourhood residents have banded together to raise money to install or fix sewage lines. Although these initiatives tackle pressing issues, they also include more extensive urban planning projects, resulting in disputes with local authorities. “Here the problem is political appointment and bribery. Whenever anyone goes to take permission for roads of any lines, they charge them money to even provide with a simple permission which is a necessity,” said Mukati, adding that then they also try to include their workers so anything that would cost the citizens 100 rupees will cost them 500 rupees.
Municipal autonomy
It is essential to grant Karachi’s municipal government administrative and financial independence. To facilitate efficient service delivery and clearly define roles, the Sindh Local Government Act has to be amended. Including private businesses in infrastructure construction can improve civic initiatives by adding efficiency and experience. For example, water delivery systems could be run by private operators while being supervised by the government. “All such initiatives can help, but the major problem at hand is sincerity to serve, and that is where everything takes a back seat,” he said. The UC chairman also pointed out that the authority charges a challan to dig up any road or street as it the town's property. After submitting the challan, they are allowed to fix the road or install a new line, but if anyone digs up without permission, then they are charged with challan and if they don’t pay up, the authority will remove the lines installed.
The lines are supposed to be installed at various depths at various localities, for example, lines and roads in hilly areas will be at different depths, while in steep areas, it is different. “Lines are to be installed on opposite sides to avoid contamination when any puncture happens, mostly water and sewerage lines are 3 feet deep but, depending on areas, can go 10-15 feet deep as well,” he explained.
Restoring confidence in government institutions requires accountability and transparency. To discourage corruption and inefficiency, public entities might be monitored by independent audits and citizen monitoring groups.
All parties involved must work together to resolve Karachi’s civic problems. Although resident’s efforts to solve water and sewerage issues demonstrate tenacity, this is not a long-term, sustainable, or legally acceptable solution. It is the responsibility of government officials to carry out their duties efficiently and to foster an atmosphere that encourages citizen involvement.
Karachi runs the risk of continuing its cycle of poor management and temporary solutions without systemic changes, allowing its citizens to suffer the consequences of neglect. A more functioning and fair urban future may be possible by striking a balance between controlled citizen action and state accountability.