Recently, the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works held its session on Tuesday and deliberated multiple issues relating to the service accommodation allotted to government servants, encroachment, and misuse of government land. According to the details, the lawmakers sought details of illegal construction on government-allotted accommodation and directed strict action against the encroachers.
Illegal construction and encroachment are a social evil, which is growing unhinderedly across the country and the national capital is equally affected by the unethically living and criminal behavior of some of its inhabitants who badly damaged the living conditions in the national capital. Unfortunately, illegal construction and encroachment have grown up in posh sectors of the capital and Federal government housings where the residents pulled over into streets and shopkeepers blocked footpaths and parking areas in the markets. There had been regular complaints that government employees have constructed illegal shops and rooms adjacent to their government-allotted accommodation and rented them to common people illegally.
The CDA, an executive arm of the Federal Captial could not maintain its standard and went through acute operational depletion, and corruption, that encouraged lawlessness and ungoverned constructions, and various Kuchi Abadies, illegal plazas, and mosques on green belts were raised in Islamabad. Realistically, the encroachment has shaped a serious social, administrative, and Security challenge for the government, while the anti-encroachment and law enforcement departments and their employees are equally responsible for making up for this upheaval.
Over half a century ago, the idea of Islamabad was conceived as a model capital city, that not only meets the global standards of living, beauity, and cleanliness but also presents national prestige and a great Islamic legacy to the world. Meanwhile, the CDA, an autonomous body was raised and tasked to build and maintain the national capital. The government made all possible efforts to provide a modern living environment, maximum comfort, and luxuries to its citizens, through judicial use of available space, and urban planning. But, the traditional corruption and slackness of government institutions, particularly the CDA could not preserve the social and living environment in Islamabad, and it turned into a hub of administrative and social problems over the past years.
In fact, the degradation and untidiness of Islamabad is another story of our overall institutional impoverishment and decay that our nation witnessed over the past decades through which multiple magnificent national projects and institutions slumped into unproductiveness and became a liability for the country. No implementation of the law, corruption, political interference, and nepotism are the major reasons that ruined every aspect of national life. Interestingly, Pakistan’s private real estate and property sector grew sharply, while high-rise and iconic buildings present scenarios like Modern Europe and Dubai, whereas state-owned enterprises usually have no competition with their private competitors.
At the helm of all national and provincial institutions, our Political leadership failed to preemptively diagnose and tackle the issue in a right and apolitical manner, rather a majority of politicians hurt government efforts through unlawful support of their voters, supporters, and relatives. That not only multiplied the problems but also open new avenues of corruption and misuse of authority by the bureaucracy and lower staff. In fact, the problem lies in the no implementation of the law, no fulfillment of responsibility, and no accountability of the corrupt, criminals, and crooks. Until and unless public representatives, government officials, and the masses do not uphold the constitution and implement the law, no positive change could be envisioned in this country.
