—Severe water woes and poor service delivery makes lives of residents miserable during Ramazan
ISLAMABAD: Sector G-13, which is managed by the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF), has been facing multiple crises for the past many years that range from acute water shortage, the absence of street lights, lack of carpeted roads, ill-maintained parks and ignored recreational areas.
It is pertinent to mention here that G-13 does not fall under the jurisdiction of Capital Development Authority (CDA) and is occupied largely by middle-class families mostly working in private and government organisations. This sector is also among the capital’s most water-stressed areas.
In addition, sector G-13 also does not have a government school, lacks proper sewage system, and the entire sector has dilapidated roads that have open potholes and craters. Sector G-13 has always been a troubled zone since its inception. In the beginning, the sector was under the control of CDA, but then FGEHF took charge of the administration.
In May 2016, there was a tit-for-tat ‘media war’ between the Ministry of Defence, CDA and FGEHF. The three institutions fought their case by placing advertisements on front pages of national newspapers by claiming a better title of commercial plots in the sector. It all started when the Ministry of Defence warned all interested parties to refrain from taking part in the FGEHF auction.
Presently, sector G-13 has been left high and dry by the authorities concerned. The CDA administration, being bifurcated and currently undergoing massive transition, has given up on the sector since it was handed over to the FGEHF. In turn, the FGEHF has shown no interest whatsoever to do its bit and alleviate the suffering of the residents of the above-mentioned sector. Now, many of those living in the sector are demanding that the control of their area should be given to newly-devised IMC, as they believe that the corporation can bring relief to the people living in this sector.
Talking to Pakistan Today, a resident Shahrukh Syed said that he was living in the sector since the past eight years and not much had changed in the area for nearly a decade. “Among other things, there is a lack of government schools and public transport in the area as well. It becomes extremely dangerous to travel around the sector at night since the whole sector becomes pitch dark after evening,” he said, adding that development work in the sector was stopped a long time ago due to which encroachers had gotten hold of large pieces of land in the area.
“FGEHF is primarily focused on the well-being of government employees, among whom most could not become house owners due to limited resources. The foundation has devised a mechanism where govt servants are given plots on subsidised prices in the already developed sectors,” FGEHF spokesperson Sajid Asadi said while talking to Pakistan Today.
When asked whether FGEHF was planning to alleviate the suffering of the residents, Asadi said that the situation had greatly improved and the foundation had been working to develop the sector further and ensure delivery of basic amenities to the residents.
“Our high-ups have taken necessary steps and initiated projects related to carpeting of roads, maintenance of streetlights, and the establishment of parks in the sector,” he concluded.
