Regularising slums: Call for paradigm shift in urban planning

Town planner says capital lags behind in framing policy; offers alternative solution to katchi abadis

ISLAMABAD: A noted urban planner has advocated for a paradigm shift in urban planning, especially in the federal capital, taking into account the needs of low-income people and the working class.



“Planners need to have a holistic vision of development taking into account the needs of working classes, and an understanding of the sociology of the poor,” said Tasneem Ahmed Siddiqui on Saturday.

He was addressing a rally at the site of the Sector I-11 settlement, which was demolished by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in July last year.

He said that Islamabad in particular had not been planned in accordance with the needs of the poor, which had resulted in rising inequalities and the growth of such informal settlements.

The city, according to Siddiqui, also lagged behind other provinces in terms of framing a policy for the regularisation of informal settlements, which the civic agency had actively resisted.

Sindh and Punjab have already made their respective policies on katchi abadis, and have also constructed low-cost housing units for the underprivileged.

He said he had already identified a solution in his report, which he submitted to the Supreme Court, calling for the regularisation of settlements as well as for resettlement where necessary.



“If Islamabad’s planners want to prevent the emergence of new katchi abadis, they need to plan for low-income housing and develop at least two sectors for the working class in the capital,” he exhorted.

He rejected the agency’s stance where they claim that no such provision exists in CDA bylaws. He added that an amendment to the ordinance can be made in this regard.

In addition, Siddiqui said that in 1996 a UN-funded ‘katchi abadi cell’ was set up at the CDA to specifically deal with the issue. He said the cell was “almost dead” and called for it to be reactivated. He elaborated that other officials had been recruited on posts sanctioned for this cell.

Hundreds of displaced residents of the demolished I-11 katchi abadi converged at the site of the former settlement to call for the recognition of their fundamental right to housing, as well as their resettlement.

The rally was organized by the Awami Workers Party. Apart from the former residents of the I-11 katchi abadi, students and artists from the twin cities also attended the gathering.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2016.