DHA residents approach SHC against CBC's failure to deliver during monsoon rains

(Karachi) Residents of Defence Housing Authority approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) against failure of the DHA and Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) to perform basic duties and lack of preparedness in wake of the recent monsoon rains that hit the city and paralyzed normal life, media reported on Thursday.

The petition submitted by DHA residents stated that the abject failure of the authorities to discharge their duties as well as their gross negligence had resulted in disastrous loss of lives and destruction of property during the course of the heavy rains.

"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 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 further stated 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.

"Due to the catastrophic flooding across the CBC and DHA area, scores of residents suffered millions in losses due to wholesale property damage, and many are still unable to return to their homes due to continuing inundation and standing water across vast swathes of DHA and CBC," it said.

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.

The petition stated, "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."

In their petition, residents termed the registration of FIR against 22 protesters as "malicious".

On August 31, residents of Clifton and Defence areas lodged a protest outside the office of CBC over incompetence and negligence of the authorities to drain out rainwater accumulated on streets and lack of amenities.

They said that the people living in the said areas pay millions in taxes but are still deprived of basic amenities. The protestors pointed out that an audit of the flood relief tax collected by the CBC be shared with them and called on the board's members to be held accountable for the lack of amenities provided to them over the years.

Apart from demanding an improvement in the sewerage system, they also asked the CBC to improve garbage collection in the area. The irate residents maintained that the recent monsoon rains have exposed the poor performance of the Clifton board as rainwater could not be cleared from the roads.

The protesters demanded the chief executive officer of the CBC address them and listen to their grievances. They also demanded the CBC chief to resign.