AN old land scam in Karachi has been revived and is once again being perpetrated on hapless citizens looking for affordable options in a housing market increasingly beyond their means, where demand far outstrips supply. A recent investigative report in this paper about Malir Development Authority’s Taiser Town Scheme 45 laid bare the project’s dubious history which inspires little confidence in its ability, or even its intention, of fulfilling the stated objective of providing affordable housing for low- and lower-middle income families. In the 23 years since the scheme was first launched, even basic infrastructure remains missing; there is no provision for electricity, gas or water supply to the area. What there is in plenty, however, is people’s yearning to have a house of their own, and their expectation that a government project would be a safer bet than a private, profit-driven scheme. This has enabled unscrupulous land authorities to entice many into parting with their hard-earned money. After all, empty promises are more difficult to resist when one is living hand to mouth in a one-room rented abode. Given it can take decades before a final verdict in civil cases is obtained, those affected — especially when they belong to the lower socioeconomic strata — are left with little recourse.

Questionable housing projects such as Taiser Town are intrinsically linked with the dire housing shortage in the country. The urban housing demand in Pakistan is at least 350,000 units per year. At present, the backlog is 11.5m units, a figure that increases by 200,000 annually. The most affected by far are the lower- and lower-middle income segments of the population; one obvious outcome is the densification of the localities in which they are already living and the consequent decline in the quality of life. Yet it is two decades since any major government housing scheme has been announced in any urban centre. Karachi, with its high levels of rural-urban migration, is particularly affected. Shelter is a fundamental human need. However, instead of the government disposing of land keeping social and developmental factors in mind, the land bureaucracy has become partners in crime with shady real estate developers and builders backed by sections of the power elite. Profit is the bottom line. Consider that the thousands of acres occupied by the colossal Bahria Town Karachi had been reserved for MDA to develop a low-cost housing scheme, and the scale of corruption becomes clear.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2019