Beating swords into plough shears--that is the story of Naimat Ali Javid, the only Ph.D. Nazim until last week when his tenure as Tehsil Nazim of Shakargarh concluded. Before joining politics he was part of Pakistan's nuclear programme. His contribution in completing the nuclear fuel cycle is rated outstanding. But as a rural development worker his achievements are no less impressive.
Dr Javid's constituency, Shakargarh Tehsil, tucked away into north-eastern corner of District Narowal, is surrounded by India on the east and Occupied Kashmir in the north and north-west. In Pakistan, the sun's first rays fall in the area of Shakargarh Tehsil and Pakistan's Standard Time is associated with reference to a point in Shakargarh Tehsil area.
One of the oldest tehsils of Punjab, Shakargarh is densely populated, the present count being about a million souls living in its towns and 800 villages. Since 1947, when it became part of Pakistan, the people of Shakargarh have faced both manmade and natural calamities. It earned the unenviable position of a battlefield of three wars with India. In 1971 war the bulk of Shakargarh Tehsil was occupied by Indian forces for about two years. When there was no fighting, there were devastating floods.
Till 2001, when Dr N A Javid took over as Tehsil Nazim, there was very little development in the Tehsil of Shakargarh. About 130 villages were without electricity; roads were broken wherever they existed, and the telephone facilities were meagre. The condition of schools in villages was pathetic: quite a few schools had no roof, electricity or drinking water. And, there were also schools which had buildings but no teachers or students.
Tehsil headquarters hospital in Shakargarh was poorly staffed, with hardly any medicines. The position of Basic Health Units (BHU's) in the rural area was worst. Drinking water in Shakargarh city was unhygienic and the disease of Hepatitis was rampant. There was no proper underground sewerage system. There were only three tube-wells for a population of about 0.1 million in the town of Shakargarh. PTCL transmission was not reaching the Shakargarh area and the Indian TV transmission was the only source of recreation, exposing the people to what appeared to be the Indian 'cultural invasion'.
Since August 2001, literally, a 'Devolution Inqilab' was ushered in, says Dr Javid. "As Tehsil Nazim, I have been able to complete the following development works: Pavements of streets and water drains in all 800 villages and towns and in the city of Shakargarh. Six additional tube-wells, along with five water treatment plants in Shakargarh City. Four tube-wells and four water treatment plants for large-size villages. About 100 villages have been provided electricity, which leaves only 30 villages (4 percent) without power connection."
During his tenure, 69 school buildings were constructed. Now, all school-going children of age group +5 years have been ensured of attending school regularly, "and we expect to attain 100 percent literacy, the first in Pakistan, much before 10 years", said the former nuclear scientist.
The Tehsil Headquarters Hospital is being upgraded with over Rs 40 million expenditure, for induction of specialist doctors' services in surgery, paediatrics, eye treatment, gynaecology and other ailments. Free medicines are also being provided. Additionally, regular monthly camps for eyes and other ailments are held. A sports stadium and a library have been constructed in Shakargarh, and the city has been provided with underground sewerage system. Twenty telephone exchanges and PCOs have been provided in the rural areas as additional facilities. A PTV booster of 800 ft height is being installed. Two bypasses for city of Shakargarh have been arranged to ease traffic.
Four big spurs and 'bunds' on Nallah Bein to protect several villages from floods were also constructed. Three main roads--Shakargarh-Chak Amru, Shakargarh-Zafarwal and Shakargarh-Narowal--have been repaired and widened.
"We have provided free medical treatment to the residents of Shakargarh in thousands including cardiac bypass operations." Thousands of young boys and girls have been provided employment in different government departments like defence, Wapda, atomic energy, and education health and in private sector. Village to village market roads have been constructed in scores of villages to connect most of villages.
Dr Naimat said a cadet college and an OPD hospital is being constructed exclusively from his family resources in his native village Tarkhana Murida to provide quality education to bright poor students along with medical treatment. "I do not charge to the Provincial Government for my car, petrol, salary, telephone facilities. I give 16 to 18 hours daily to the public."
The law and order situation before the introduction of devolution of power system in Shakargarh area was very bad. Police and tout culture was prevalent and murder cases in this Tehsil, mostly politically motivated, were the highest in Pakistan. "After August 2001 we have discouraged police culture by not involving ourselves in local feuds and grouping. I have never been to a police station and have never registered any police case against anybody...I strongly believe that police should not be administrated by Nazims and it should act independently."
Asked how the devolution of power system could be improved, Dr Javid made the following recommendations: (1) Educational qualification for the District and Tehsil Nazim should be M.A/M.Sc, and for Nazim of Union Council it should be B.A./B.Sc, (2) Regular expenditure audit should be made prior to any financial disbursement, (3) District Nazims and Tehsil Nazims should be elected by direct vote.
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