Experts say tackling the city’s demographic crisis requires a comprehensive solution
KARACHI:
The Sindh government is working on a new master plan for Karachi, titled Greater Karachi Regional Plan 2047. Although the main features of this plan have not yet been revealed, experts believe that the growing 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 was 450,000, but today it exceeds 20 million. According to the 2023 census, Karachi’s population increased 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 states that Pakistan’s overall annual population growth rate is 1.5 percent, while in Karachi it is 6 percent. According to the same report, Karachi’s population will reach 28 million by 2030. Urban planning expert Zahid Farooq opined that sustainable urban planning depends on reducing population pressure on Karachi.
“For this, it is necessary to provide employment opportunities to migrants in their own areas. The main reason for the rapid growth of Karachi’s population is the influx of people from KP and other areas in search of employment, as Karachi provides more employment opportunities than other cities,” Farooq noted.
It appears that 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 (KP), has declined by 1.9 million since a large number of people migrated to Karachi in search of livelihood, more than in other parts of the country.
According to the Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020, the city’s rapid population growth is mainly due to internal migration, with people from various parts of the country moving to Karachi for work. 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 were drawn up for Karachi over different periods, none were implemented due to political reasons. “The Greater Karachi Regional Plan 2047 is a positive step, however, such a plan should not be prepared simply in a living room and should instead be made public. The plan should be discussed at all levels, from the Sindh Assembly and Municipal Council to the Union Councils, while incorporating feedback from experts in various fields,” Farooq implored.
Senator Waqar Mehdi, leader of Pakistan People’s Party in Karachi, 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 needs of the city for the next 50 years. “Given the rapid growth of Karachi’s population, a comprehensive master plan is essential. The new plan will also take into consideration the previous master plans,” Mehdi asserted. It is worth noting that although several master plans for Karachi have been formulated since the creation of Pakistan, none have ever been implemented. After the formation of the country, the Greater Karachi Plan of 1952 was drawn up 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, but its implementation once again failed. According to the Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020, the city is administratively divided between 20 federal, provincial and local institutions, and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) controls only 31% of the city.
The plan states that apart from the Sindh government, various federal entities also exercise administrative control over parts of the city, including six cantonments, Defense Housing Authority, Port Qasim, Karachi Port Trust, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Steel Mills and Export Processing Zone, among others.
