Town planners' shortage mars urban growth

Experts have blamed a shortage of town planners for unplanned urban growth.

The shortage is causing concerns about the future environmental and climatic conditions.

Sources revealed that of the 16 sanctioned posts, the Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) has been operating with eight town planners for decades. The metropolitan corporation (MC) and district council have one town planner each, despite their crucial role in shaping the urban landscape.

The town planners are tasked with granting approvals for commercial plazas and residential layouts, duties that fall outside their primary responsibility of setting long-term urban and rural planning strategies.

The situation has worsened with the recent surrender of Muhammad Farooq, the sole town planner at the MC, to the Punjab Local Government Department due to complaints, the sources said. Additionally, the town planning post at the district council has been assigned to an architect, leaving both planning wings in the hands of building inspectors with only a civil engineering diploma.

Town planning expert Nadeem Khurshid emphasised that according to international standards and the National Reference Manual (1982), it is mandatory to appoint one town planner for every 50,000 people. Based on this, Faisalabad, with a population of nine million, should have 180 town planners. Instead, the municipal and development bodies are functioning with only 10 officials.

Khurshid also pointed out that two town planning directorates at the FDA have been handed over to an officer with a degree in architecture but no professional qualifications in town planning, violating the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP) Ordinance, 1983.

The town planners' primary responsibilities of land classification, zoning, master planning and use management are being overshadowed by their involvement in approving commercial building layouts, typically the domain of architects.

The recently approved master plan for the city, which was prepared by a non-PCATP-registered consultant, was set aside by the Lahore High Court, highlighting the lack of professional oversight. Khurshid warned that in the absence of a master plan, housing development cartels, in collusion with civic bodies, might exploit the situation, disfiguring the city's landscape.

The lack of proper planning is also hampering the efforts to meet the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals endorsed by the government.

FDA Director General Muhammad Asif Choudhry acknowledged the shortage of town planners, stating that several requests have been made to the Punjab Public Service Commission for recruitment.

However, three previously recruited town planners have left for other departments, exacerbating the situation.

Choudhry stressed the urgent need for additional town planners to address the backlog of development tasks.