State of cities report: Census by March next, says Zahid Hamid

Says govt taking all possible measures to get accurate knowledge of urbanisation

ISLAMABAD: The government is committed to conducting a population census by March next year.

This was said by Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid, while addressing a joint press conference with Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson, UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne and UN Habitat Country Programme Manager Bela Evidente on Monday.

He said the government was taking all necessary measures to get accurate knowledge of urbanisation - one of the challenges being faced by the country.

“State of Pakistan Cities Report” being developed under the auspices of Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) with technical assistance of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and funded by the Australian Government is likely to be launched till June 2017, Hamid said.

The report aims to contribute to the strategic initiatives of PakistanVision-2025 and would help make cities as hubs of economic growth and implementation of the sustainable development goals, particularly Goal 11 on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

The urbanisation trend in the country was not similar to other countries, he said.



“Pakistan’s population was expected to reach 230 million from 190 million by 2030,” Hamid said.

“Urbanisation is as one of the challenging issues faced by Pakistan, yet, at the same time it also offers immense opportunities for investments in addition to climate change mitigation and adaptation,” he said.

Only far-reaching and calculated measures were the means to tackle it, the minister said.

For the purpose, government was leading the development of the “State of Pakistan Cities Report” to ensure that vital information could help planners, decision makers and society to produce better and improved urban solutions, he added.

To a question, the minister said the government was committed to conduct population census by March next year. He said that to ensure transparency, army personnel would be deployed during the census.

“Cities and urban areas are becoming increasingly important for our environment, economic development and security, welfare and quality of life, for a growing share of the world’s population. I am glad to be a part of this initiative, which will surely provide holistic knowledge for sustainable urban planning that was needed to meet both present and future challenges of Pakistan’s growing cities,” Minister of State Marvi Memon commented.

Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson underlined that the Australian government was pleased to support access to accurate and timely information upon which to base policy and planning decisions.

“The development of the State of Pakistan Cities Report comes at a time when Pakistan’s cities, and many cities throughout the world, are under increasing pressure from population growth and environmental concerns,” she said.

“The report will provide vital data for planners, policy makers and legislators in responding to these challenges and equip Pakistan’s cities to play their future role at the centre of the nation’s economic and cultural activity,” Adamson said. Buhne spoke about achieving the SDGs.

Pakistan could not meet the SDGs by 2030, if there was not a rapid and a major improvement in services, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2016.