Freeing up residential areas

The Cabinet has set a six-month deadline to remove all unapproved commercial entities from residential areas. It is a good initiative and we welcome the move. In fact, this should have been done long ago. However, it would not be remiss on our part to ask why these commercial establishments were allowed to be set up in strictly residential areas in the first place. Obviously, permission was obtained from the respective city corporations and RAJUK who couldn't have been unaware of the restrictions. The responsible officials must be held accountable for destroying the character of the residential areas.  

While the idea is a move in the right directio in terms of zoning the city into commercial and residential areas, there are a few points to ponder here. First, there are certain commercial activities that provide public service, such as hospitals and diagnostic centres, which have come up here, not without proper approval and would need longer to relocate. 

We want the plan to be implemented. However, the timeframe must be realistic, as these commercial entities have expended considerable resources in establishing infrastructure to conduct their activities. While removal of commercial entities is essential for a planned city, it is also only fitting to have a proper relocation plan for all these commercial ventures, which will in all probability take longer than six months. The freeing up of basement areas of residential buildings will undoubtedly help with the haphazard parking that plays havoc with traffic in the city. All in all, a good initiative that should be well-planned and executed fully and rationally.