75% of Karachi mapped out digitally by city government

Slow funds hampering geo spatial management project.

KARACHI: Around 75 per cent of Karachi has been mapped digitally, even though the planning department has received less than 0.1 per cent of the funds allocated to it for this project.

The Geo Spatial Management Information System (GSMIS) was one of the most important initiatives started by the city district government Karachi (CDGK) around two years ago. The project’s aim was to digitise information on land, structures, recreational facilities, academia and other services and facilities and to carry out a survey on residential, commercial and industrial units and spatial settlements.

The CDGK allocated around Rs50.5 million for the project and hired consultants to help them carry out the project. However, so far, the consultancy firm has only received Rs50,000 out of the budget.

The firm has been demanding the rest of the money but they are continuing to work. CDGK master planning department EDO told The Express Tribune that despite a series of obstacles, around 75 per cent of the city’s map has been digitised while half of the field survey has been completed as well.

He said that the project is nearing completion and if the allocated funds are released on time then they will be able to meet their expenses and pay the firm’s fees. “It would be a matter of a few months that the project would start yielding results,” he added.

Karachi DCO Muhammad Hussein Syed told The Express Tribune that the project is vital for the city as well as the CDGK because it would ensure that nobody can misuse public or private land. It will prevent encroachments and establishment of new illegal spatial settlements.

Since the project aims at digitising all residential, commercial and industrial units and regularised spatial settlements, the tax net will also be broadened and revenue leakages would be plugged. The completion of the project is pivotal for city planners. The required information and data would be available online, said Syed.

He said that the Hyderabad district has already been covered under the GSMIS and Karachi would soon follow. Saying that he has taken a personal interest in the project, the DCO promised that the funds would be released very soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2011.