When it Comes to Fundamentals
ByMehrIspahani
Iwas sitting in my lounge enjoying the weather and having a cup of tea when my
Aunt calls me up. She is well-known to be the calmest and most considerate
person that I know besides being a learned member our family but this time she
was feeling disturbed. She is one person who I know hardly complains about
anything but this time she spoke to me for a while about what’s really bothering
her. She told me about the problems she is going through in the area where she
resides; she said that she would like to shift to a better place where the
systemis more organized. I asked her where would she like to shift from there?
She said anywhere that has all the basic facilities telling me that she would
prefer DHA or Cantonment Area of her city and out of sheer frustration started
telling me about all the problems that she had been facing living in her
locality. She told me that recently a house in the neighborhood caught fire and
there was just no fire brigade system around the area. There is shortage of
electricity; the electricity is not available sometimes for hours. The problem
of poorly constructed roads is long engraved in the area. Litter, roads under
construction, poorly concreted speed breakers and down-and-out drainage system
on the roads are a cause of increasing accidents. Municipal corporations claim
to have a dearth of enough funds for the repairs. Various accidents have been
reported due to potholes, uneven speed breakers and roads under repair or under
construction in the past years, and the numbers are ever increasing. A
45-year-old man died after his two wheeler bumped into a pothole. He fell off
from his bike because of the immediate jolt and after that a water tanker coming
from behind crushed him to death.
Due to lack of attention of municipalities towards city planning, the buildings
in towns are overcrowded and cleansing thereof has become impracticable in most
of the cities and towns. Municipalities could not improve the sanitary
conditions of the towns. In some parts of the town, the width of the streets
isso narrow that even the drains could not be erected and dustbins could not be
put up. Municipalities should conduct periodical survey of the civic services
provided to the residents. They should inspect the purity of water supplied
through the taps, working system of drainage, dustbins, guttersand an
arrangement for the solid wastes should be done etc., as the objective of local
government is to provide certain civic amenities to the people at their
doorsteps.
I wondered why DHA or Cantonment Areas? Cantonments have experienced vast growth
since inception. There are a total of 56 Cantonments in Pakistan. As of 2013,
the greatest amount 27 is in Punjab, then 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 in Sindh,
seven in Balochistan and two in Gilgit-Baltistan. Cantonment Boards are
providing education facilities to its residents through CB Public School & Girls
College. The Cantonments Act of 1924 was a landmark in the history of
cantonments, as it brought in its wake some sweeping changes. The act introduced
the representative local government system, under which elected representative
of the civil population became members of the Cantonment Boards. The Boards were
created as autonomous statutory local bodies for providing civil services. The
powers and functions of the Cantonment Boards are synonymous to Municipal
Committees in the cities but civic amenities provided by the municipalities and
income and expenditures of the municipalities and research on various aspects
reveals the different causes for the failure of municipalities.
Talk more about facilities less fact and figure. Why 2013? Why not latest facts
and figures. I was just wondering that my Aunt can afford to shift to a place
with better system like DHA but what about common people who can’t afford to
shift from a place, they have to face all these difficulties and suffer. No
doubt that Cantt Boards provide a better system with much better roads,lighting
and land administration. There is much better water supply with better parks an
organized system of markets. A much better set up for sanitation is provided as
Poor sanitation is linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea,
dysentery, hepatitis. Poor sanitation reduces human wellbeing.
Pakistan has more advanced infrastructure than its neighbours. Among the modern
infrastructure pieces in place are its motorway system, extensive road network,
mobile telecommunications systems, airports, high-speed internet system,
extensive railroad network, gas pipeline etc. Many infrastructure projects in
Pakistan, including power plants and motorways, are being built and financed on
build-operate-transfer. China stepped up its infrastructure spending after the
2008 financial crisis to counter flagging global demand.Infrastructure provides
the backbone for setting an economy on the path towards sustained economic
growth. The provision of basic and efficient infrastructure in transport,
communications and utilities such as electricity provides an enabling
environment for the private sector which takes the lead in growth process.
CDA has also not been able to devise any regulations or procedures which would
ensure that the environment conserved or rehabilitated, bring reforms in
planning and design wing. Green belts were once the hallmark of the capital –
with the city’s greenery and landscaping famed throughout Pakistan. But CDA has
allowed the belt to be encroached by private organizations and even government
departments.Policymakers in developing nations have begun to seeinfrastructure
development and intellectual property protection.Construction of new roads,
bridges, airports, and seaports can help countries better handle the movements
of high volumes of goods, services, and people.
If we consider China, a country having a developed and progressive
infrastructure Complementing its rapid infrastructure development is China’s
upgrading labour force. China is the fastest growing country in the world for
last few decades and one of the defining features of China's growth has been
investment-led growth. Why can’t we adopt a model of china for the physical
infrastructure?
Globally, China is not able to exert the same level of political control as it
can on its own citizens or semi-autonomous regions. Thus, it uses infrastructure
as a method of infiltrating other nations under the guise of facilitating
economic development.Our education focuses a lot on achieving personal goals
like scoring well in exam to excel. Civic goals can get its due importance by
getting enough appreciation for following it. We need to make plans for 20 years
ahead with the coordination of sectors.
(Mehr is Peshawar based freelance columnist)