Nearly half a century after its birth the nation's Capital will be governed by its own elected representatives - if 'governed' also means sharing municipal powers with deeply entrenched and fiercely resistant power-addicted bureaucracy. A friend of the prime minister, Sheikh Ansar Aziz, and three other PML (N) members have been elected as mayor and deputy mayors of the new-born Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (ICM). If anything could set out on wrong foot the ICM did; at the time of election of the ICM officials the covering law, the ICT Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2015, had expired. It was extended post-dated by the National Assembly a day after the election of mayor and his deputies following a contentious debate and by the slightest margin. All of this should be behind us now. The newly elected ICM leadership needs across-the-board support in the house and outside on the streets, for the challenges it is going to face are massive. In the ICM house, the all-PML (N)-elected leadership will be pitted against its political nemesis, PTI, which not only forms numerically strong opposition but is also well-versed in street politics. Then, given that the mayor is an urban bird and all three deputy mayors come from rural background and are political progeny of the concerned minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, some perceptional divergences on issues like 'city versus village' cannot be ruled out. But much stiffer opposition is expected to stem from the bureaucracy who is not used to sharing powers with others, which in this case are not only raw hands but also short on power distribution menu. For instance, the Capital Development Authority will be willing to part with its powers to manage - which it could never - road construction, sanitation problem, water shortage, health facilities. But as to the building control, construction bylaws, revenue collection and market maintenance the authority would like to retain. The final word on distribution of power, however, is yet to be said, because a committee constituted by the government is still working on devolution of assets and functions.
The journey ahead for Mayor Ansar Aziz and his team is certainly very steep, yet it is worth the travel - for, it enjoys the support of the residents of Islamabad city and its rural areas. The people want a difference from what has been going on for half a century when they hosted nation's two highest elected houses but in them they were always disenfranchised. For its voters to feel the change the newly-elected IMC leadership can do four things almost instantly. One, it should clear the city of encroachments, which are too many and too offensive to look at. For instance, come to District Courts in Ayub Market. You will find the parking space monopolized by the food outlets and illegal structures built upon by influential people. Two, in all the sectors residents maintain small but illegal green spaces beyond their boundary walls, invariably forcing the parking of vehicles on the roads and thus obstructing free flow of traffic which of late has increased manifold. By clearing these spaces not only would much-needed parking space become available, this step will also help improve water supply which becomes problematic during summer. Three, ensure electricity supply to the traffic signals at the intervals of loadshedding. It looks so much freakish that while the city is cluttered with cars, some quite expensive, but traffic signals are dead because of lack of electricity. Four, the streetlights should come alive; nothing will announce the arrival of elected the mayor in an effective and meaningful manner than this 'miracle'. And in the meantime, step up its fight to retrieve powers from the bureaucratic monopolists.