ASSOCIATION OF DEFENCE RESIDENTS
(JOINT FEDERATION OF THE RESIDENT ASSOCIATIONS OF DHA, FORMED SEPT. 2007)
MEMBERS: DSRA, DACC , Phase IV Resident Association, Phase VII Resident Association, Phase II Ext. Residents Association, SRS, DSRA/N.E.W., Defence Gardens Central
Association, Defence Housewives Association, Helpline Trust, Country Club/Fl Homes/Galaxy, Phase VIII Residents, Phase V & VI Resident Association.
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3, Mezzanine Floor, Western Plaza, 10-C/II, 12 Commercial St, Phase II Ext., DHA, Karachi. Tel No. 35880519.
ADR REPORT ON WATER SUPPLY
for National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence
August 17, 2011
Presented by
Asad H. Kizilbash
Hon. General Secretary
Mother Lease signed by the DHA with the President of Pakistan in 1975 clearly stipulates
that that it is the sole responsibility of the Lessee/Developer (DHA) to build the
infrastructure & arrange for the provision of required bulk water for the areas being
developed by them. On the behalf of the President of Pakistan, the Lessor, it is the
responsibility of the MEO to see to it that the Developer (DHA) fulfills all such
responsibilities in a satisfactory manner. The maintenance of the infrastructure and the
distribution of bulk water, after the satisfactory development of the area as confirmed by
the MEO, are then transferred to the municipal authority (CBC), as per the Mother
Lease, which is then authorized to collect taxes for the rendering of all the municipal
services to its area’s residents.
In the absence of any other water provider except the KWSB, DHA has been historically
engaged in signing of agreements and negotiating with the KWSB from time to time, as
their developed area & the number of households has been gradually increasing over
time.
Current Requirement
According to very conservative CBC estimates, the minimum requirement of water in the
developed area currently under their jurisdiction, PHASES 1 through 7, is 14 Million
Gallons per DAY (14 MGD). Experts at the KWSB have determined the requirement
at around 18 MGD as per their official’s statement during one of the NA’s Standing
Committee on Defence Hearings recently.
On the other hand, DHA has been in a habit of presenting much lower and unrealistic
figures for the water requirements for the DHA in order to relieve themselves of their
duty as a responsible Developer. They use a UN figure as a standard for per capita
water requirement, which might be more suitable for remote villages in an African
desert, where even basic facilities like flushed toilets & showers are neither available nor
used. On the other hand, they use a figure to calculate the number of residents per
Household more likely to be more applicable in Western cities, not taking in to
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consideration that in Pakistan, it is quite common to have extended families in a
Household, as well as a staff of servants & other helpers in an area like the DHA.
DHA/KWSB Agreements (See Annexures A & B)
Prior to 1999, KWSB had been supplying 4MGD of bulk water to the DHA as per their
Agreement.
After September 1999, as per another Agreement, KWSB agreed to supply an additional
amount of 5MGD, bringing the total amount of bulk water to 9MGD.
In 2006, KWSB agreed to supply an additional amount of 3MGD from their newly
constructed K-III project. That would have made the total supply of water from KWSB
to the DHA at 12MGD.
DHA COGEN Plant
Since 1999, there has been a rapid increase in new construction, adding to the total
number of households in the area. But DHA after failing to even secure the additional
3MGD of water from the KWSB as per their agreement of 2006, decided to find other
sources of water.
DHA arranged for two Cogeneration Plants to fulfill their responsibility to provide sources
of bulk water matching the needs of the existing developed phases, as well as required
for their ongoing projects and development activities in Phase 8.
The First COGEN Plant was completed and subsequently inaugurated by the then
President of Pakistan, Gen Pervaiz Musharraf, on Feb. 15, 2008. The Plant was built to
supposedly supply 3MGD of water for the benefit of DHA residents, besides producing
electricity to be sold to the KESC, at a total cost of USD 1.25 million. As we all know by
now, the DHA COGEN failed to operate satisfactorily from the very first day of its
inauguration, & has been out of order till today.
The planned Second COGEN Plant, after the disappointing results of the First one, has
been shelved. The Second COGEN Plant was expected to start delivering an additional
6MGD of water by 2010-2011.
If all had gone as planned and agreed, KWSB would be providing 12MGD of water and
DHA COGEN Plants an additional 9MGD, bringing the total to 21MGD, meeting the
requirements of the current residents as well as the requirements of gradually increasing
households and other DHA projects of Phase 8 as well.
Current Supply of Water (See Annexure C)
As per the monthly records of CBC, the total water being supplied by the KWSB during
an average month has been varying in the vicinity of 6MGD to 7MGD. There are days
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when it falls down to even 2MGD & 3MGD. It is to be noted that as per the
Agreements, the total amount of water to be supplied by the KWSB is 12 MGD.
We would like you to note that the current requirement of just Phases 1 through 7 is
14MGD, likely to increase further as new construction adds further households in the
area. Phase 8, after development is completed is expected to more than double the
population & the number of households in the DHA, requiring approximately around
28MGD to 30MGD of water in the near future.
DHA has lately, inconsiderately and against all wisdom, drastically increased penalties on
empty plots not only in Phases 1 through 7, but also in sections of Phase 8 as well which
have been declared as ready for construction, in the guise of NON-UTILIZATION FEE
or NUF. NUF penalty far exceeds even the total annual amount of taxes charged by the
CBC on constructed buildings, which includes besides water charges, conservancy, house
tax, and other related charges for various services provided. It is totally an
incomprehensible penalty, as in the absence of bulk water; it is quite irresponsible for
the Developer to force even the hesitant-to- build plot owners to quickly start building
and consequently rapidly multiplying the number of households, and thus adding to the
miseries of all the DHA residents, new and old.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF ADR
1) Order the KWSB to fulfill their obligation to immediately start supplying the agreed
upon quantity of 12MGD of bulk water to the DHA residents on a regular basis.
2) They should be asked to immediately shutdown the hydrant constructed only a few
yards away from the supply point of water to the DHA at Chakra Goth. This
hydrant was officially meant to supply only 250,000 gallons of water per day to
private tankers. Investigations by the CBC & the Station Commander Karachi’s
officials have confirmed that instead of only 250,000 gallons per day, the hydrant
is openly diverting between 4MGD to 5MGD of water to the private tankers from
the supply which was actually meant for the DHA residents. (See Annexure D)
3) DHA must be asked to fulfill their responsibility as the Developer to immediately
arrange other sources of bulk water for their area & MEO needs to be instructed
not to allow further development till such satisfactory arrangements have been
made, as per MEO’s duties specified by the Mother Lease by the President of
Pakistan.
4) DHA must be asked to immediately withdraw their outrageous NUF penalties on
owners of empty plots in all the DHA Phases, in order to decrease the pressure on
already over stretched basic resources like water & electricity.
5) ADR & CBC has recently mutually and unanimously agreed during their joint
meeting, chaired by the CEO CBC and the Member Cantonment Board Clifton, Mr.
Aziz Suharawardy, that following steps will immediately be implemented by the
CEO CBC to alleviate the miseries of its Tax-Paying Residents:
a) All the future building permits for construction in the Developed Phases of
Phase 1 through 7 will only be issued with the following official provision that
CBC will not provide any water connection till the regular supply of bulk water
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to DHA has not reached a minimum of 12 MGD , and till that time CBC will not
charge the Household any water charges as well.
b) All future building permits for construction in Phase 8 will only be issued with
the official provision that CBC will not provide any water connection till the
regular supply of bulk water to DHA has not reached a minimum of 14 MGD,
and till that time CBC will not charge any water charges from that Household
as well.
c) In view of acute shortage of water for the benefit of tax-paying DHA
Residents & Households, CBC will immediately stop supplying or selling water
to all the non-tax-paying DHA institutions and buildings, as well as private
and commercially run DHA Clubs and other businesses. CBC’s first and
foremost duty is to serve its tax-paying residents. It is assumed that all
these institutions & businesses can buy water from commercially available
water tankers, just like even most of the tax-paying Residents are forced to
do on a regular basis.
d) CBC will immediately disconnect water connections and stop supplying water
to all the tax-defaulting DHA residents & Households, till all the past arrears
and all the current tax obligations are satisfactorily fulfilled and paid in full.
e) CBC will allow Tax-Paying residents who are not satisfied with the amount of
water being supplied to them to request and get water supply to their
Household disconnected, and CBC will stop charging for water from all such
disconnected Households immediately thereafter. That would further
decrease the demand for water while keeping the affected resident relatively
satisfied.
f) CBC will immediately stop supply of water to all commercial institutions in the
area, including hotels, restaurants, etc. These commercial institutions can
well afford to purchase water from commercial operators already doing brisk
business in the area.
6) The Standing Committee may request the DHA to immediately provide it with a
copy of its 1975 Master Lease to all its Members. In light of the provisions
prescribed in the Master Lease, a thorough investigation needs to be carried out
by the Committee to determine whether the Developer (DHA) has fulfilled all its
duties as per the specifications in the Mother Lease, and whether MEO has
diligently fulfilled its duties as outlined in the Mother Lease and as entrusted by
the President of Pakistan.
For further details, please contact Mr. Asad H. Kizilbash, Hon.
General Secretary ADR.
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