Katchi Abadi and “Developed Slums” Part 1

When we hear katchi abadi, the mind goes to illegally built mud houses with temporary or no roofs, in localities without proper sewerage systems or roads. Data shows that currently, 47% of the urban population of Pakistan lives in katchi abadis. However, living in an urban city, how many times does one come across the type of katchi abadi described above?

Although many still look like that, it is not the case for all. The statistic mentioned above for katchi abadis does not only refer to the stereotypical perception of slums, it also refers to unregularized societies that lack amenities such as electricity, water, and sewerage. In some cases, these amenities may be available through illegally tapping electricity wires, self-made sewerage lines, or using the underground water table for a running supply. To an unaware eye, this neighbourhood will be a regular, legal community.

However, in the eyes of the government and lawmakers, these are katchi abadis which are not recognized or approved by the development authority of their respective cities. Many areas that we considered to be developed societies are actually former katchi abadis which have been ‘developed’ over time. They may be loosely termed as ‘developed’ because these areas come across as permanent, legitimate residences, but they are still unplanned, densely populated regions, with houses inhabited by the poor.

Pakistan has a growing slum population, which is due to the rapid urbanization and prevailing poverty in the country. With so many Pakistanis living in slums, in some constituencies, the slum dwellers can overturn an election decision. This is something that elected legislators also recognize and many have used it to their advantage.

Over the years, as elections approached, the agenda of poverty eradication and improved low-cost housing became a part of election manifestos. In many areas, this agenda was used as a unique selling point to gain support from the low-income groups since they are often in the majority.

In some cases, promises were forgotten, in others, these promises were acted upon by providing public services such as clean drinking water, gas, a sewerage system, or electricity to the existing slums. Some legislators tried to do more for the slum dwellers and managed to legalize slums by giving leasing rights or title deeds.

Over time, many slums across the country became partially or fully legalized, which meant they were accepted by the city planning departments and were introduced in the city’s updated master plans over time. As years went by and these houses changed hands, the original status of the slum was forgotten and these houses were accepted as legal societies or towns within the city.

Increasingly, many katchi abadis have been regularized but the living conditions in the various katchi abadis remain poor even after regularization, due to the lack of basic civic infrastructure. Low quality of housing and cramped living conditions still remains a problem. Orangi town in Karachi is an example of a slum which was partially regularized but still lacked basic public services, however the private sector took initiative to provide the slum with the necessary services (for more details please read, Slums in Pakistan.)

Due to lack of planning, there continues to be unchecked growth of squatter settlements and these encroachments on state and private vacant land are a direct result of the housing problem. A problem that can only be effectively tackled through proper city planning and low-cost housing schemes. Going forward, in part 2 of this series we will discuss specific examples of katchi abadis that have been developed over time. To further understand the extent of the problem, we will be asking citizens what they know about their ‘developed’ neighbourhoods? What amenities are available and of those, which have been provided by the government? Whether they are aware their house is occupying land illegally? Etc.