KARACHI, April 19: The city government has not yet formulated and approved a master plan for Karachi which is needed to regulate the uncontrolled growth and unguided development of the city.
Out of five master plans prepared for Karachi in the past, only the one prepared during the colonial era was fully implemented, while no efforts were made by the successive provincial governments or the present city government to form and implement any master plan for the city.
A previous master plan for the city — Karachi Development Plan 2000 — was initiated in 1986 with the financial assistance of the UNDP, and it was finalized 1991 at the total cost of Rs460 million.
Unfortunately, not a single meeting of the steering committee, headed by Sindh chief minister, was held to approve this plan, and the KDP-2000 is still lying in the shelves, whereas no serious efforts are being made by the city government to upgrade and implement this plan for a better future of Karachi.
The town-planning act, introduced in South Asia in 1915, placed greater responsibility on the then provincial governments to look into the affairs of their cities.
This tradition of empowering provinces to make master plans for their respective cities ceased after the introduction of devolution system in the country in 2001, and under the national housing policy, all the three tiers of the local governments, the city/district government, towns /taluka/ tehsil/ and the union council have to formulate their own master plans.
The need for a master plan in Karachi arose in 1921 after a dispute arose over transfer land of Artillery Lines and the Depot Lines from the Cantonment to the KMC.
The then chief engineer of KMC wrote to the then governor, requesting him to release the undeveloped land to the public at reasonable price on which the then government deputed Mr. A. E. Mirams to submit his proposals for improving the existing conditions of Karachi.
Mirams submitted his plan in 1923 which became the first master plan of Karachi, which enabled the transfer of 86 acres cantonment land of the Artillery Maidan to the KMC.
Major uplift works were undertaken under his plan, including development of KMC and KPT land. Lyari area was partially developed, Jail Quarters was developed and Garden Quarters, Soldier Bazaar, Jamshed Road schemes were undertaken.
Since, there was no central agency, such as town-planning department at that time, Mirams proposed that the housing schemes be prepared and taken up by government, municipal corporation and port trust in their respective areas.
After the separation of Sindh from Bombay presidency in 1936, Karachi became its full fledged capital, and it led to a growth in the city population, accelerated many-folds, and sizable mass of waste-land was transformed into well-populated area, called Frere Town between the year 1936 and 1946.
The second master plan for Karachi was prepared in 1946, by Lt-Col. Swain Thomas, an officer in the cantonment, who had to revise the plan in 1948 but this plan could not be implemented due to complete demographic changes after the formation of Pakistan.
The other plans prepared for Karachi are Greater Karachi Plan -1952, by a Swedish firm, Merz Rendal Vatten (MRV) though it suffered many shortcomings and was not implemented, but it envisaged creation of the KDA in 1957.
However, this plan set the dimensions of spatial growth of the city which are still being followed. Up to 1968, the city development followed the guidelines provided by this plan, including the establishment of Karachi Circular Railways.
Another master plan for the metropolis — Karachi Master Plan -1974-85 — was formulated with the financial and technical assistance of UNDP, but the high-level steering committee authorised to approve the plan ceased to exist soon after the plan was finalised.—PPI
