Growing urban pressure tests planners

The Sindh government is working on a new master plan for Karachi, titled Greater Karachi Regional Plan 2047. While the key features of this plan have not yet been revealed, experts believe that the increasing population pressure on the city poses a major challenge for urban planning.

According to official statistics, Karachi is the only city in the country whose population has increased 44 times since the creation of Pakistan. At the time of independence, Karachi's population stood at 450,000 but it has now risen to over 20 million. As per the 2023 census, Karachi's population grew by 4 million in just five years, from 14.8 million in 2017 to 18.8 million in 2023.

A recent report by a World Bank-affiliated organization stated that Pakistan's overall annual population growth rate is 1.5 per cent, while in Karachi it is 6 per cent. According to the same report, Karachi's population will reach 28 million by 2030. Urban planning expert Zahid Farooq opined that sustainable urban planning was contingent upon reducing the population pressure on Karachi.

"For this, it is necessary to provide employment opportunities to migrants in their own regions. The main reason behind Karachi's fast population growth is the influx of people from K-P and other areas in search of jobs, because Karachi offers more employment opportunities compared to other cities," noted Farooq.

Reportedly, no other major city in the country has experienced such a sharp increase in population, largely due to migration. In fact, the population of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), declined by 1.9 million since a large number of people migrated to Karachi in search of livelihood, more so than from other regions of the country.

According to the Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020, rapid population growth in the city is primarily due to internal migration, with people from various parts of the country moving to Karachi for employment. Additionally, a large number of Afghans, Bangladeshis, and people from other Asian countries are also settled in the city.

Farooq added that although several master plans have been developed for Karachi over different periods, none have been implemented due to political reasons. "The Greater Karachi Regional Plan 2047 is a positive step, however, such a plan should not be prepared merely in a drawing-room setting and instead should be made public. The plan must be discussed at all levels, from the Sindh Assembly and City Council down to the Union Councils, while incorporating feedback from experts across various fields," implored Farooq.

Pakistan People's Party Karachi leader Senator Waqar Mehdi informed that the Greater Karachi Regional Plan 2047 was being developed under the supervision of international experts to ensure better urban planning and meet the city's needs for the next 50 years. "Given the rapid growth of Karachi's population, a comprehensive master plan is essential. The new plan will take previous master plans into consideration as well," claimed Mehdi. It is worth noting that although several master plans for Karachi have been formulated since the creation of Pakistan, not a single one has ever been implemented. After the country's formation, the Greater Karachi Plan 1952 was developed but never executed. Later came the Karachi Development Plan 1974-1985, which also remained unimplemented.

Then in 2007, during the tenure of former president General Pervez Musharraf, the Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020 was prepared, yet implementation failed once again. According to the Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020, the city is administratively divided among 20 federal, provincial, and local institutions, and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) controls only 31 per cent of the city.

The plan states that besides the Sindh government, various federal entities also hold administrative control over parts of the city, including six cantonments, the Defence Housing Authority, Port Qasim, Karachi Port Trust, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills, and the Export Processing Zone, among others.