KARACHI: Experts have raised concerns over the non-implementation of city’s master plans and said that among various other factors, discrepancy in census data is a major factor behind the failure of master plans as that affects provision of survives to citizens and leads to poor civic management.

They said this while speaking at a session, ‘Masterplan Karachi 2047’, organised by the Writers and Readers Café at the Josh Malihabadi Library of the Arts Council of Pakistan here on Thursday.

Moderated by Zahid Farooq, the event had two speakers: Dr Saeeduddin Ahmed and Muhammad Toheed.

Dr Ahmed of NED University said the master plan was initiated by the Karachi Development Authority. After bidding, a company from the Middle East and two other companies have been involved in the joint plan.

He said any master plan highlights how development should take place in a city. Usually it’s made for 20 years. The last one’s tenure ended in 2020. After that it was decided that another plan be made for 20 years (2040), but then it was discussed that since 2047 would mark one hundred years of Pakistan, therefore the year 2047 should be targeted. “A vision is formed for the 20-year target, meaning how we want to see our city at the end of the tenure. The earlier vision was that Karachi be turned into a world class city. Did that happen? It is a different debate.”

On the technical aspects of the subject, Dr Ahmed said the master plan entails land use, that is, how the spaces in the city will be used. It’s based on population. As the population increases, the needs [of citizens] also increase. For example, the need for housing. Similarly, transportation and jobs etc are taken into account.

“The question is that master plans for cities, including that of Karachi’s, were made… but have their visions been realised? Why haven’t they achieved their goals? Our research says that the master plan that we make is done in a quantitative way. When that plan comes out in the shape of a book or document, then the consultant’s job is over and the plan reaches the government. Its implementation is up to the government. Our argument in that regard is that all over the world a master plan is not treated like a project. It is a continuous process. It is undertaken on a daily basis.”

Mr Toheed, who is associated with the Institute of Business Administration, said the city has seen seven master plans, two of which were made before partition of the subcontinent. Except the first one, all other plans failed. “In the whole world, the master plan exercise is based on population. Census tells us that Karachi’s population in 20.38 million. But the officials of institutions that provide services to the city say the population is three 30m.”

He said those who live in Karachi for the maximum time in a year must be considered in the census. “Seasonal migration is a big factor. This means there are people who live in the city for four months or six to eight months, and prefer that for four months they stay in their ancestral towns. No problem. The problem rears its head when census doesn’t count those one crore people who live in the city for eight or nine months in a year,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2025