The writer is an architect.
KARACHI’S annual GDP is $164 billion. This huge economy, its infrastructure, and relationships are heavily dependent on institutions and facilities that function from encroachments.
Cargo handling and storage; warehousing; wholesale markets; inter- and intra-city bus terminals; workshops and depots; spillover of bazaars and mandis; and the city’s huge street economy are all on encroached land, and there are many markets and government buildings on nullahs and elite societies, like the DHA and the KPT Officers Housing Society, that encroach on the drainage outlets to the sea. Health and education facilities are located on residential plots and so are eating and entertainment facilities of the rich, middle-class, and the poor. There are also residential and commercial buildings built on amenity plots, fully or partly, such as the Icon Tower, which have been purchased by the rich and middle-class families who had little or no knowledge of their illegali
Empowered LG system may help solve Karachi’s issues, says HRCP
Karachi
December 22, 2020
Emphasising the need for an empowered local government in Karachi, a fact-finding report released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) recommends making the city’s 19 land-controlling and land management authorities accountable to one central authority or making them autonomous.
The rights watchdog’s report titled ‘Karachi’s Urban Flooding: Looking for Solutions’ notes that the main challenge lies in first resolving the city’s jurisdictional issues, giving the local government the power to levy local taxes that can then be diverted to local needs, and reversing the top-down urban development model so that the city’s hinterlands are brought back into the conversation.
Multiple jurisdictions cause of Karachi’s urban flooding
National
December 22, 2020
LAHORE: A fact-finding report released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) points to Karachi’s peculiar political geography, where various jurisdictions local, provincial, federal and cantonment coexist, often at cross purposes to each other.
It recommends making Karachi’s land-controlling and management authorities accountable to one central authority or made autonomous. The lack of a legitimate decision-making and accountable authority may have been responsible for bringing the city to a standstill during the monsoon rains in July and August.
The report emphasises the need for an empowered local government (LG) for Karachi, adding that the main challenge lies in resolving the city’s jurisdictional issues first, giving local government the power to levy local taxes that can then be diverted to local needs, and reversing the top-down urban development model so that Kar
Multiple jurisdictions in Karachi responsible for urban flooding: HRCP Anti-poor bias runs through urban planning, policymaking SAMAA | Press Release - Posted: Dec 20, 2020 | Last Updated: 3 months ago SAMAA | Press Release Posted: Dec 20, 2020 | Last Updated: 3 months ago
Men use a wooden makeshift boat at a flooded area after heavy monsoon rains triggered floods in Pakistan s port city of Karachi on August 28, 2020. (AFP)
Urban flooding in Karachi is the result of a lack of a central authority in the city, a report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said Sunday.
A fact-finding report âpoints to the cityâs peculiar political geography where various jurisdictionsâlocal, provincial, federal and cantonmentâcoexist, often at cross purposes to each other. It recommends making Karachiâs land-controlling and management authorities accountable to one central authority or made autonomous. “