An Analysis of Katchi Abadis in Islamabad

Preamble

Informal settlements have now become the only option for those who cannot afford formal housing or land in urban areas. Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, has the highest number of urban slums in the country. This blog analyses the historical evolution and the present situation of Katchi Abadis in Islamabad. It also highlights the government measures taken in the past to address the concerns of dwellers of informal settlements and suggests policy options for incorporating slums into the urban centre. 

Research Questions

1. What are informal settlements? 
2. What does the term Katchi Abadi mean? 
3. What is the present situation of Islamabad in terms of informal settlements? 
4. What are the past and present measures taken by the government to mitigate the housing crisis? 
5. What can be done to incorporate katchi abadis in urban cities?  

Introduction

Adequate shelter is a basic human need, and Pakistan continues to face a severe shortage of housing for its rapidly increasing population. In an attempt to seek out better livelihoods due to poverty, war, unemployment, and natural disasters, a large number of people migrate from rural to urban areas. This raises the demand for housing exponentially, and the government does not have enough resources to provide affordable formal housing to such a large number of people. This usually leads to cropping up of informal settlements in urban centres whereby this lower-middle-income population can fulfil their housing needs. Islamabad remains Pakistan’s best planned and organised cities. The city has more than fifty informal settlements and the government has taken sizable steps to incorporate these settlements into the city. Following the model of participatory upgradation, residents of informal settlements can be taken onboard to approach the process in a way which keeps the sentiments and requirements of these groups in consideration. All in all, the spread of informal settlements in Islamabad is a result of the government’s incapacity to provide affordable housing to the masses, and inclusive participation of the residents of such dwellings is vital to the successful incorporation of katchi abadis in the country’s capital. 

Katchi Abadis and the Informal Sector

The demand for housing has far outstripped supply in the face of rapid urbanisation and population growth. Urban areas need labour and human capital which provide the basis for development and sustainability. This social capital mostly consists of rural to urban migrants as they come in search of better opportunities and economic security. But land in urban areas is more expensive than their rural counterparts. Poor people remain marginalised due to their lower salaries and cannot afford such exorbitant land prices, let alone the cost of basic civic amenities. Planned development in Pakistan has not come close to matching the growth of cities and demand for housing. As state land depleted over time and the formal sector remained incapable of providing housing to such a large number of people, new settlements were developed through the informal subdivision of agricultural and government lands. The phenomena came to be known as ‘katchi abadis’ or informal settlements. 

The term ‘Katchi Abadi’ consists of two words, Katchi, meaning temporary, and Abadi, meaning settlement. The word (abad) has roots in the Arabic language and is used to denote permanence and eternal duration. That is in stark contrast to what the term, katchi abadi, represents as they are defined as a lower standard residential area which has developed without a legal right to the land or permission from the concerned authorities (United Nations, 2003). As a result of their illegal status, infrastructure, and services are usually inadequate with a lack of sanitation, clean drinking water, electricity, and security. As more and more people flock to major cities in search of employment and services, the stretched capacity of most urban economies is unable to meet the demand for housing and shelter. Therefore, to fulfil the basic human need for shelter, encroachments on government and agricultural lands to develop informal settlements have provided a chance for the survival of the poor and low-income groups. Much of this development is substandard and basic civic amenities such as electricity, sanitation, and clean water supplies are missing. 

Islamabad: A City With the Largest Number of Slums 

Islamabad is considered as one of Pakistan’s best planned and organised cities. The master plan envisioned the city to be dynamic where the city centre grows in direct proportion to the growth of residential functions. But the one major aspect which city planning failed to cater was the housing need for the low-income population of the city. This population consists of mainly those people who have a lack of income generation opportunities and provision of social facilities in rural areas. As the government failed to provide affordable housing to this sector, the city has witnessed mushrooming of unplanned and unauthorised human settlements within the city and on its periphery. These katchi abadis have become a sizable community over time and a sign of lack of governmental control and enforcement of regulation.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) was formed in the 1960s to undertake the task of planning and development of the Federal Capital. According to the United Nations Development Program (2002), CDA has made persistent efforts to curb the spread of katchi abadis since 1985. These steps include demarcation of land through the erection of pillars and boundaries, land eviction, resettlement and rehabilitation through cooperative housing societies, provision of infrastructural facilities, and establishment of a katchi abadi cell in the CDA’s Planning Wing. These efforts have been greatly hampered by lack of finances, continuity of plans, comprehensive policies, and resistance meted out due to vested interests. Government officials have often claimed that such informal settlements harbour criminals and terrorists, but considering the majority of people who live there are mostly low paid, unskilled class, labourers and daily wage earners, it is evident that failure on the part of the government to provide housing to these essential groups is at the heart of the matter. 

Government Measures to Manage Growth of Slums 

A number of different approaches have been seen on the part of the government to restrict or manage the growth of informal settlements in Islamabad. Evictions were carried out in the 1980s under which people were evacuated through force and moved to other sites where construction was ongoing. Resettlement within the residential sectors was also tried by providing small plots to katchi abadi dwellers, but these plots were later sold off at good prices by the allottees. Resettlement outside residential sectors has also been tried as in the case of a slum located near to Fatimah Jinnah Park, but due to high transportation costs and lack of basic facilities, thirty percent of the dwellers sold off their land and moved back to the slum (United Nations Development Program, 2002). 

Another step has been to rehabilitate katchi abadis on existing sites, but this approach too had severe limitations and tendency for people to sell off their developed land for a high price and establish a slum elsewhere. Finally, upgradation of existing katchi abadis in an organic way was also considered, and work started in collaboration with UNDP, but existing land available to the katchi abadis was not sufficient to carry out proper planning. Therefore, only those provisions which were deemed absolutely necessary were carried out. There are around 52 katchi abadis in Islamabad, out of which it recognises only 10. The population of these informal settlements exceeds a hundred thousand individuals (The News, 2015).

The Way Forward: How to Incorporate Urban Slums into Cities

The world is changing at a fast pace, and with informal settlements continuing to rise at alarming levels in cities and urban areas, evictions and reconstruction of these settlements are increasingly becoming unpopular and inefficient. The traditional model of slum upgradation involves building high rises to accommodate a large number of residents. Still, this model does not stop the emergence of new slums in other areas. According to Hart & King (2019), Indonesia adopted an inclusive approach to its urban housing problem. Participatory upgrading puts residents at the heart of decision making, and the most critical needs are identified and prioritised accordingly. On top of that, residents were also encouraged to take part in the planning process, and communities also contributed to one-third of the upgradation costs. India has also followed the same model in Mumbai to eradicate its informal settlements (Hart & King, 2019). This model allows for the people, as stakeholders, to have a greater say and share in the development of their communities and therefore, are less prone to abandon their homes later on. 

Partnering with NGOs and academic institutions, prioritising on-site incremental upgrades, ensuring vulnerable groups have a voice, avoiding displacement of residents, and improving access to services are the essential steps which need to be taken for sustainable upgradation and management of informal settlements. The focus should be made on the security of tenure, affordability of housing, and social security along with the provision of water, sanitation, health, and education facilities. Beneficiaries should also be involved as active stakeholders in urban upgradation programs. Dwellers of informal settlements often prefer living in slums over rural areas but at the same time, attach great importance to education for their younger generation and social security (Charumitra et al., 2014). Therefore, inclusive involvement of communities in planning and upgrading their environment is essential to rehabilitation and acceptance of informal settlements. 

Conclusion

The low and lower middle class have to resort to informal settlements as the last housing option in major urban centres due to the incapacity of the government to provide affordable housing for them. It is generally assumed that people living in informal settlements are economically poor and cannot contribute to their betterment.  But their preferences may vary from case to case, and efforts should be made for an inclusive agenda. A uniform mindset cannot be applied in planning for their redevelopment. They should be given options to make their own choices as this would lead them to work towards solutions best suitable for their needs. Unless the well-being aspect is not included, no matter how many attempts are made at improving the conditions of such people, no concrete progress will be seen in the future. 

Key Takeaways

1. The demand for housing has far outstripped supply in the face of rapid urbanisation and population growth.
2. Planned development in Pakistan has not come close to matching the growth of cities and demand for housing.
3. As state land depleted over time and the formal sector remained incapable of providing housing to such a large number of people, new settlements were developed through the informal subdivision of agricultural and government lands.
4. Katchi abadis have substandard development, and basic civic amenities such as electricity, sanitation, and clean water supplies are missing.
5. As the government failed to provide affordable housing to this sector, Islamabad has witnessed mushrooming of unplanned and unauthorised human settlements within the city and on its periphery.
6. Katchi abadis have become a sizable community over time and a sign of lack of governmental control and enforcement of regulation.
7. Participatory upgrading puts residents at the heart of decision making, and the most critical needs are identified and prioritised accordingly.

Bibliography

Charumitra, B., Kumar, D. K., & Anupama, S. (2014). Slum Redevelopment Strategy: A Way forward to Urban Environment Management through Inclusive Approach. Research Journal of Engineering Sciences, 5-10.

Hart, M., & King, R. (2019, November 13). To Fix City Slums, Don’t Just Knock Them Down: Involve Residents in Upgrading Efforts. Retrieved from World Resource Institute: https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/11/fix-city-slums-dont-just-knock-them-down-involve-residents-upgrading-efforts

Statista. (2020, October). Pakistan: Urbanisation from 2009 to 2019. Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/455907/urbanization-in-pakistan/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2036.91%20percent%20of,in%20urban%20areas%20and%20cities.

The News. (2015, August 9). A questionable existence: 52 Katchi Abadis of Islamabad. Retrieved from The News: https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/559167-a-questionable-existence-of-katchi-abadi-in-islamabad#:~:text=According%20to%20CDA%20figures%2C%20there,these%20informal%20settlements%20exceeds%20100%2C000.

United Nations Development Program. (2002). Katchi Abadis and some Viable Alternatives. UNDP. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwixue-B1q7tAhWkQxUIHak9DAwQFjAAegQIBRAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rspn.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F04%2FKatchi-Abadis-and-Some-Viable-Alternatives-A-Case-Study-and-

United Nations. (2003). The Challenge of Slums. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/files/Challenge%20of%20Slums.pdf