DHA Karachi residents filed petition against DHA and CBC in Sindh High Court
Sindh High Court issued notices to DHA and CBC
The angry
and disappointed residents of DHA Karachi have filed a petition in the Sindh High
Court against the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and the Cantonment Board
Clifton (CBC) for their "abject failure to perform basic duties after the
heavy monsoon rains in Karachi. The court issued notices to CBC and DHA on the
petition, seeking their reply within three weeks when it is expected to take up
the case.
The
petition, states that the authorities' "abject failure to discharge their
statutory mandate as well as their gross negligence" had resulted in
"disastrous loss of lives and destruction of property during the course of
the heavy rains" while residents continued to suffer for days afterwards. "The
CBC is responsible for urban management functions [whereas] the DHA conducts
development and planning works within its allotted area," it said.
It said that
the DHA and CBC had been aware of the increasing flooding risk for the last two
decades but had "failed to take necessary steps towards mitigating
it", despite taking "billions of rupees" for fixing the
storm-water drainage system. The petition cited examples from rains in 2006,
2009, 2017 and 2019 which had exposed the "flaws in the drainage
system".
"[The
failure of CBC] to establish a proper drainage system — as well as sheer
negligence in maintaining even the existing basic infrastructure — in the face
of increasing annual flooding is well-documented," it stated.
The petition
said that the CBC had invited bids from contractors for cleaning/desilting of
storm-water drains in April 2020 but later claimed that the rates quoted in the
bids were "unreasonable" and abandoned the project instead of
inviting bids again.
Moreover,
residents in the area also suffered from long power outages extending over 96 hours] in some places after the K-Electric suspended
electricity supply over electrocution concerns.
"[CBC
and DHA] failed to implement any emergency or rescue measures, and it was only
due to the efforts of various non governmental organisations (NGOs) that some
relief was provided."
"[Their]
abject and well-documented failure to perform their basic duties as described
above stands in stark contrast to the burgeoning taxes and charges collected by
them from the residents each year," the petition stated, adding that they
had also not responded to residents' requests to show financial statements.
The petition
called on the court to declare that the CBC and DHA had "failed to perform
their statutory duties and infringed the rights of the petitioners by
failing to maintain a functional drainage system".
It also
called upon the court to declare them "liable for the loss of life and
damage to property suffered by the residents" during the heavy rains on
Aug 27 and 28.
It requested
the court to order the formation of a committee comprising representatives of
the residents of DHA and CBC, as well as architects, civil engineers and urban
planning experts which would make plans for improving the drainage system in
the area to be implemented by the authorities.
It also
asked the court to direct them to "immediately demolish all buildings and
structures constructed upon, and/or otherwise encroaching upon or obstructing
any public sewers, nullahs and/or drains" as well as stop
them from facilitating any further land reclamation on areas essential for
drainage.
The petition
also requested the court to direct an independent auditor to conduct a forensic
audit of the two bodies' financial accounts for the last 10 years while
restraining them from collecting taxes and development charges until the audit
was completed.
It asked the
court to direct the CBC and DHA to make sure that vulnerable people in the area
who had been affected by the recent rains "are provided adequate shelter,
resources, housing and safe relocation".
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