LYARI
EXPRESSWAY 2002
13
December 2002
City
government has resumed the demolition of houses on 12 December 2002
see details below:
Residents
demo against Demolitions of Houses
By
Aziz Sanghur
KARACHI
The affected people have stopped an demolition operation at Lyari
Expressway Project site on Thursday 12 December in Madina Colony
areas.
When
the operation team reached Madina Colony with heavy bulldozers and
other machinery to demolish the people s houses, they protested and
stated that they have not received any alternate plots from the City
Government. Women came out of their houses and forced the operation
team to postpone the operation, unless they would not get the
alternate resettlement from the City Government.
As
many as 300 plots have been allotted to the irrelevant people (fake),
which were issued by the City Government and the genuine people were
deprived of their basic rights , remarked Bashir Naveed, Chairman,
Action Committee for Civic Problems. He said that the genuine people
also approached the concerned officials and told them about the fake
names, but they did not pay any attention in this regard. It was not a
right decision, which was taken by the City
Government
to use force against the citizens, he added.He said that several plots
have been allotted against fake names by the City Government. The
concerned officials were not aware about the problems of the affected
people, he added.
According
to estimates of the Urban Resources Center (URC), the figures were
25,400 houses and 3,600 businesses. These are enormous dislocations of
livelihoods, homes and children education. The association estimates
that over 200,000 people will be affected. The majority of the people
who are being affected either work within the corridor in garbage
collection and sorting or in the neighbouring settlements as day-wage
labourer.
It
is officially learnt here that the Lyari Expressway, a project worth
Rs. 5 billion 17 kilometer long expressway includes in its design,
four interchanges and 16 flyovers. The Expressway is designed to
catering for 34,000 vehicles per day, initially. The Nation 13/12/02
Update December
10
While the Pakistan Govt has stated in
court that the Asian Development Bank s funding the Lyari Expressway
project the ADB has denied this. But the ADB has not taken
action to disprove the court statement. Local NGOs believe the
ADB somehow is funding the project indirectly.
Meanwhile he evictions have stopped
temporarily and will probably resume after the fasting period in
December.
Sept 09 2002
Lyari
Expressway
The
forced evictions will go head; Musharaf
A review meeting of Lyari
expressway was held at Governor Houses on 3rd September.
This meeting was presided by president general Musharaf and
attended by the NHA chairman, a serving major general, the Sindh chief
secretary, the DCO of Karachi and “other officials”. The president
was quite satisfied with the progress of the work on this project and
he said the government is offering very best resettlement to the
effected families. The president said forced evictions will go head
despite very strong concerns raised by the effected families, media
and civil society organizations. None of the displaced families, or
their representative or civil society organization, was present at the
meeting to tell the president their side of the story.
President said it was
unfortunate that adverse reports are projected in the media as if
something wrong was being done. He further said that they are being
allotted 80 square yards plots and Rs 50,000/- cash and still it is
being projected adversely it is unfortunate.
The
report by the official news agency also said that the authorities were
going ahead with this project with “zeal and no compromises”.
JULY 29 2002
Controversy
Expresswoes
By Rabia Asif
The physical and
psychological trauma of a displaced community by a project that has
been rejected by experts and analysts
Roughly 40 years ago
when migrants from Punjab, Sindh and the Frontier began to settle
here, Lyari River held clean water and fish, and much farming
activity. Its earliest settlers from Balochistan had established
village Hasan Aulia almost 200 years ago, being among the first few
communities to settle in Karachi. Gradually as Karachi's population
grew, the river was converted into a sewerage channel for the city.
Today the total population of katchi abadi dwellers along the Lyari
corridor stands at approximately 200,000, all of whom are being
removed while their land is being taken over by the Pakistan
government for the construction of the Lyari Expressway. The cost of
the project is estimated at Rs. 5 billion, and a total of 25,000
houses (98 per cent of which are pukka construction), 3600
shops/commercial units, 50 mosques, 5 churches, 8 temples, 10 schools,
38 clinics, 1 hospital, and 66 factories will be bulldozed. As an
angered resident from Hasan Aula village exclaims "this is the
kind of cruelty our own government is subjecting the awaam (public)
to-- and we are busy crying over India and Israel". While the
validity of the Karachi Northern Bypass is agreed upon, experts
and analysts
maintain that the Lyari Expressway is a project without need.
Architect and urban planner Arif Hasan who has studied Karachi's urban
issues and the Lyari Expressway project at length, maintains that he
is "totally against this project because it is not
required".
The Northern Bypass was conceived in 1980 as
a much needed means of linking the Karachi port to the Karachi
Superhighway which connects the city to the north of Pakistan. The
purpose of the bypass was to redirect all port related traffic --
which constitutes 20,000 heavy diesel vehicles passing through the
city daily -- to the Superhighway. Because the Bypass project never
took off, in 1989 the then government proposed the Lyari Expressway
(an expressway along Lyari River) as an alternative. This proposal was
severely opposed by professionals, NGOs and Lyari community groups as
the expressway -- like Lyari river -- would pass through the center of
the city, hence enhancing the very problems that a transit bypass was
to solve. In 1995 and 1996 after a dialogue between citizens and the
then elected government, the Lyari Expressway project was aptly
cancelled.
In June 2000, however, it was decided by the
military government that both the Northern Bypass and the Lyari
expressway would be built. On April 27, the ground breaking ceremony
for both projects was held. And while ceremonies and celebrations for
these projects proceeded, residents of the
Lyari embankments were undergoing threats
that their homes were going to be razed to the ground. Those opposing
the project primarily argue that, as reiterated by Arif Hasan,
"when the Northern Bypass is being built for port related traffic
there is no justification for building the Lyari Expressway".
Officials of the National Highway Authority
-- to which contract for construction
has been given -- give various reasons for the Expressway's
feasibility "unauthorised people are living in the Lyari bed and
are in the right of way -- they are going to be resettled in a proper
environment; port traffic is going to be diverted to the Expressway at
high speed; and the Expressway will beautify the city as per the
beautification programme". They also assert that the Northern
Bypass project "is not at all the same -- the Lyari Expressway is
more important particularly for Karachi".
Arif Hasan
gives further reasons for the Lyari Expressway being entirely without
validity "The Lyari Expressway is in no way a priority for the
city -- Rs. 5 billion are being spent when there are no bus terminals
for the city, the main corridors are broken and there are no
footpaths, there is no traffic management. Many link roads connecting
the corridors that were planned in the Master Plan haven't been built;
if these were done it would ease traffic much more than building the
Expressway and would benefit commuters and neighbourhoods rather than
just motorists".
There are also
fears that the expressway will cause congestion and environmental
pollution. "This traffic is going to pass through the most
heavily congested areas of the city. You don't build expressways
through city centers. Cities that have, like Bangkok, regret them. The
Europeans also learnt a long time ago that traffic should be
by-passed", says Arif Hasan. In addition, as far as the
Expressway's proposed design goes, he says that "it is a
vulgarity because in its journey of 16.5 km , there are going to be 16
bridges and 4 interchanging flyovers.".
In the eviction
drive, the Lyari Expressway project is responsible for large scale
dislocation of communities along the Lyari bed and the Lyari corridor
as well as the destruction of businesses, social facilities and
physical infrastructure. This displacement of 200,000 people is a
great humanitarian problem. Aside from the immense financial loss and
physical and psychological trauma suffered by all residents, the
evictions are causing a direct increase in homelessness and
joblessness. The 36,000 commercial enterprises being demolished
provide jobs to over 40,000 workers. Most inhabitants also held jobs
within reasonable distance from the Lyari corridor. "The
government is cruel! These are all ghareeb mazdoor (poor
working-class) people- who work all day and come home to eat and sleep
at night- they are stealing our Sakoon (peace) from us," says a
resident.
Also according to
studies conducted by the URC (Urban Resource Center) Karachi, the
expressway would not provide the much needed space for cargo terminals
and warehousing, which the Northern Bypass will provide.
Since Jan 20
2002, over 4000 residential and commercial units have been demolished.
With the help of army rangers and police, bulldozing is being done by
the department of City District Government Karachi (CDGK), which
claims that the project is "under direct orders and monitoring
from General Musharraf" and confirms that "the demolishing
operation will continue until all 'encroachments' are clear".
Residents whose
houses were demolished on June 27 say that although they had been
aware of the threat, they were given no notification prior to the
bulldozing operation. "Early in the morning we were awakened by
teargas 'grenades' and the lady police were saying apni jan bachao
(save your lives). We weren't even given the chance to collect our
samaan (belongings)". Another resident exclaims "That day it
was like qayamat here!". On July 11, the ongoing bulldozing
operation took the life of 13-year-old Rehman, who was caught
underneath the collapsing wall of his house while trying to secure his
belongings. In two separate instances, two women died of heart attack
while their houses were being bulldozed, bringing the death toll to
eight.
The less revealed
truth about the Lyari Expressway is that all land along Lyari River is
a gold-mine for land-builders and investors. Many professionals
opposing the project as well as affected residents, agree that
demolishing is being done for the purpose of selling the land to
land-builders -- since bulldozing is taking place over an area far
greater than that required for the road. In the pattern of many such
'development' projects countrywide and worldwide, as soon as the value
of property increases, land becomes prime commercial property and
consequently whatever stands in the way of its commercialisation, is
eliminated. The affected are usually katchi abadi dwellers who, due to
the government's failure in fulfilling the housing needs of the poor,
settle on land sold to them by the city's land mafia (land grabbers).
Thus contrary to the misconception that katchi abadi dwellers live
free of cost, both land and services such as electricity, water
supply, and gas are sold to the them by informal agencies or mafia,
most of which are closely linked to government agencies and police.
Bulldozing is also being done with blatant discrimination, sparing
apartment buildings, godowns and factories belonging to the
influential and well-connected. In this case too, as a resident of one
of the affected abadis aptly says "Expressway aisay ghoom raha
hai jaisay saamp (the expressway is zig-zagging like a snake)".
The settlements
along the Lyari corridor embody years of investment and struggle by
the people. Today 98 per cent of homes are pukka construction. Over
the years, residents have gained legal electricity, water supply and
sewerage after painstaking lobbying with the government. 90 per cent
of them pay regular taxes and an average of 60 per cent homes have
been legalised. In village Hasan Aulia for example, 90 per cent of
homes are leased by the Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority. As a resident
says "they are calling the legal 'illegal'. These leases which
they themselves have issued they are now calling fake". The CDG
says that "it will not be possible to construct the road unless
all those in its right of way are removed".
Appallingly, a 112 year old Jamia Mosque in
the village is among the buildings marked for demolition. The
government's exploitation of those that are weak is clear. But equally
tragic is the helpless and resigned stance that the affected seem to
have adopted. Still, many are not giving up without a fight. Protests
and exchanges between army, police, and residents are taking place
almost daily, with the army contingent many times resorting to tear
gas, lathi charge, and even firing.
What the Lyari operation demonstrates is that
while past governments may have been nauseatingly corrupt, there was
clearly far more possibility of a dialogue between people and the
government. In such a project where the lives of millions are being
disrupted, there is a need for transparency where the social,
economic, and technical viability of the project is made public. Among
other appalling truths that emerge in the Lyari Expressway crisis,
what it also reflects is the shape of things to come -- that the well
being of citizens is secondary to the might of the gun.
The resettlement plan; The government, prior
to the evictions, promised that all inhabitants will be resettled, as
per the need of the law. In the case of Lyari Expressway, the
government s violating the national laws. A female resident of one of
the abadis points out, "if they really need this land for this
road, we should first be settled on new land and then they should do
all this!".
Any resettlement initiative is in principle
based on a resettlement plan, and the plan in itself is founded on a
survey of existing realities. No such resettlement plan has been made
and all information is being kept secret. A number of those evicted
from Lyari River have been handed slips of paper with names of family
heads. These slips bear no plot umbers or any other details verifying
their 'resettlement'. Officials of the City District Government claim
that "plots of 80 square yards have been allotted to every family
in Hawks Bay, Taiser Town and Surjani Town." However according to
those affected, much of the vast barren land on the fringes of the
city to which they are being sent bears no plotting, nor does it have
the provision of any of the basic services (water supply, electricity,
sewerage, or gas). "They want to throw us into a jungle!",
says a troubled resident. According to authorities of the City
District Government, "ground work for the development of services
is ongoing", however residents maintain that they have clearly
seen no such sign. As has been the norm in most such 'resettlement'
cases in the past, 60 per cent of such parchis (slips) are distributed
among junior government workers, while only the remaining 40 per cent
usually reach the affected people. In the case of village Sher Shah
which was among the first to be demolished in the June 27 eviction
operation, residents say that out of 500 homes that were demolished,
only 200 families have been allotted compensational plots. One man
even claims that "I had three houses and I haven't received even
one plot as compensation!". Ultimately, the katchi abadi dwellers
that do receive these parchis sell them back to government officials
and resettle into other katchi abadis of the city. Also, of the Rs
50,000 cheques distributed among families, many claim that more than
half of these are not cashable. Says one resident, "I am not
being able to get cash for the Rs 50,000 cheque because they say that
my name is mis-spelt". When asked about this problem, an official
of the CDGK says that "human error is possible but they are being
rectified then and there. We are admitting
there are some mistakes but we are trying to do all that is humanly
possible."
Reflecting a
typical misconception, an onlooker commented "Of course the
government will demolish these houses, it's the government's
land." Priority in Pakistan seems to have shifted from the
people's rights to the phenomenon of the government's rights over the
people. Sadly it has been forgotten that the purpose of the government
is primarily to meet people's needs and to work for the greater good.
And that this arrangement is one of give and take, whereby people pay
taxes and provide their services, while
the government's role is to fulfill their
needs and govern their collective affairs. -- R. Asif The News
Earlier HEADLINES
JULY 12
KARACHI: Demolition halted as boy's
death leads to riots: Lyari Expressway operation
JULY
11
Thousands rendered homeless and jobless
Death toll reached up to six.
------------------------------
UPDATE JULY 16
Over 400 houses
inhabited by over 6,000 people were bulldozed by the city
administration in the last two weeks to make way for the Lyari
Expressway.
This demolition was carried out with support of the rangers and the
army and when the residents protested, they were heavily tear gassed
and beaten.
Another 25,000 houses have been marked for demolition along with 3,600
commercial enterprises that provide jobs to over 40,000 workers.
Many of the homes and businesses being demolished are leased and many
more have legal water and electric connections for which they pay
utility charges. Some of the settlements that are being effected are
over 150 years old.
These demolitions are being carried out in violation of national and
international laws and without taking the affectees into confidence or
providing them with appropriate alternatives to their devasted lives.
These demolitions
will leave tens of thousands of Karachiites homeless, jobless and
destitute and deprive their children of education, thus increasing
social conflict and unemployment in an already badly brutalized city.
All attempts at establishing a dialogue with the government agencies
on this issue have failed.
From the URC Karachi - Pakistan
DOWNLOAD and Save information brief and
sample letter of concern HERE
Update July 8 2002
AN
APPEAL FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Lyari
Expressway
Evictions
8 July 2002
An
appeal the poor communities of Lyari River
Over
25,000 poor housing dwellers are looking for immediate help from
national international housing and human rights organizations as their
lives and properties are under threat of the most horrifying and worst
evictions of Karachi's history.
These
evictions were started in January this year and so far government has
bulldozed over 4,000 housing and commercial units, rendering thousands
of people homeless and jobless. The government is violating its own
national laws to carry out these evictions.
The
Laws which are being violated:
i.
A stay order from Sindh High Court against these demolitions is being
ignored.
ii.
Resettlement policy announced on January 15, 2001 by president
musharaf is being
violated
iii.
A written agreement by the city government with communities to review
this project. It also formed a 9 member committee but no meeting of
this committee was held.
iv.
Under the national laws an Environmental Impact Assessment was
essential for such project. No such study is conducted
v.
No public hearings were
held for this project.
According
to government's resettlement policy only 14,000 housing units will get
alternative land out side of the city. And rest will not get any
alternative land or compensation. The communities fear that in
government list for compensation there are over 60 percent fake/bogous
names.
The
government is planning to bulldozed over 25,000 housing units, 3600
shops/commercial units 50 mosques, 5 churches, 8 Mandirs, 10 schools,
38 clinic, 1 hospital, and 66 factories. All these destruction is
being done to make space to build proposed Lyari Expressway. Most city
experts, NGOs and government officials firmly believe the city does
need this project.
Kindly
send your concerns on this issues to the authorities in Pakistan
listed to the right.
Update
3 July 2002
Lyari
Expressway Karachi
Horrifying
Evictions
Since
27 June 2002 the government has bulldozed over 400 residential and
commercial units.
Out
of these 400 evicted only 35 qualified government conditions to get
alternative land. The resettlement policy is not transparent and
government despite promises did not publish list of effected families.
NGO and CBOs fears as past history most fake people will get these
land for resettlement.
The
government is planning to bulldozed over 25,000 housing units, 3600
shops/commercial units 50 mosques, 5 churches, 8 Mandirs, 10 schools,
38 clinic, 1 hospital, and 66 factories. All these destruction is
being done to make space to build proposed Lyari Expressway. Most city
experts, NGOs and government officials firmly believe the city does
need this project.
According
to government/s resettlement policy only 14,000 housing units will get
alternative land out side of the city. And rest will not get any
alternative land or compensation
Sindh
High Courts issued a stay order against this project and the case
filed by the communities is still in pending in the court. As
government lawyers were not attending the hearings the court extended
this stay order for until decision of this case. The present evictions
are clear violation of court's order in this regard.
|
Background
The Lyari Expressway
Much has been
written about the Lyari Expressway but confusion about the project still
exists.
Munazza Siddiqi presents a guide to understanding the various
complications around the Expressway.
Road to
disaster?
By Munazza Siddiqi
HERE
----------------------------------
A Visit to the SITE on July 10
"
I visited the site and was appalled at the devastation. No
infrastructure project, however wonderful,
can justify this barbarism carried out by our government with the help
of the army and rangers. Over 200,000 people will be made homeless and
jobless, and ancient settlements, such as the Hasan Auliya Village, will
also be affected. "
More HERE
Eviction
Alert
Kindly
send your concerns on this issues to the following authorities in
Pakistan
1.
General Pervez Muharraf
President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax
92 51 9207656 and 92 51 9270205
2.
Main Muhammad Soomro, Governor of Sindh
Fax
No.
+ 92 21 920 1218 or
92 21 92 21 82 21,
3.
Advocate Namatullah Khan, City Nazim Mayor of Karachi
Fax:
+ 92 21 9215117 or
92 21 9215131
4.
Tansneem Ahmad Siddiqui,
Director General Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority
Fax No.
+ 92 21 9211272
5.
Ovis Ghani,
Federal Minister for local Bodies Katchi Abadis
Fax 92 51 9224890
CLICK HERE
Urban Resource Centre
Karachi
Lyre Federation of Communities
Background
The Lyari Expressway
Road to
disaster?
By Munazza Siddiqi
HERE
Pakistan
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Awarded
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The
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Urban Resource Centre Karachi
A Visit to the URC Karachi
Arif Hasan Urban Heroes Award
A quick visit to the Orangi
Pilot Project
|
