It is a well-known fact that Pakistan is facing a housing crisis, especially in the urban areas of the country, due to a number of factors. According to a report prepared for the Asian Coalition of Housing Rights as a part of a larger development and planning unit project of the University College London, rural to urban migration is taking place on an unprecedented scale in the country and at present, the state had no plans to effectively deal with the migrant influx. As per the Census 2017, the country's population is 207.7 million, growing at the rate of 2.4 percent per annum in the intercensal period. In the meanwhile, its urban population has grown at the rate of 2.7 percent during the same period and is estimated at 75.5 million. People in the urban areas (especially in Karachi and other larger cities) are sleeping under bridges, on roundabouts, pavements and open-air "hotels". The state is not in a position to provide them with houses and their options in living in katchi abadis in the absence of the availability of land near the ever-expanding urban centres are becoming difficult due to sharp increases in the costs, distances, and the inconvenience related to commuting. The report has warned that this is causing flooding and bringing about a rise in temperature, especially in the high-density high-rise informal settlements. If unchecked, the environmental hazards would increase further. It is also stressed that with the support of academic institutions and civil society, movement against urbanisation could draw interest from the political authorities and the courts of law.
The findings of the report that Pakistan is facing an unprecedented housing crisis are, unfortunately, true and almost known to all and sundry including the authorities. Migration from rural to urban areas has increased immensely in the last two decades, with very strong effects on the economy and its development, including changes in labour market opportunities, family structures, education, health, environment management, security systems and governance. According to the Population Census 2017, the population of Pakistan's 10 major cities has increased by 74.8 percent as compared to the 1998 Census. Approximately, 35 percent of Sindh's total population lives in Karachi and Hyderabad alone. Karachi is the most populous city of Pakistan with a population of 14.91 million, showing an increase of 59.8 percent in 19 years. Likewise, the population of Hyderabad city has shown a growth of 49.1 percent, Lahore by 116.3 percent, Faisalabad by 60 percent, Rawalpindi by 49.3 percent, Gujranwala by 78.8 percent, Peshawar by 101 percent and Quetta by 78.6 percent. The influx of migration into urban areas at such a huge scale makes it vital to undertake in-depth studies to understand its impacts on the dynamics of the country's population but very little of the policy recommendations have been taken seriously and followed, except for the support to builders in accessing loans, reducing taxes on them and increasing the number of katchi abadis for regularisation purposes to get political mileage. While the authorities are indifferent to the problems of bigger cities, the expansion of urban areas is swallowing up valuable agriculture lands, damaging the ecology of city areas, depleting water resources, polluting water bodies and increasing crimes. Recently, the courts have taken cognizance of the lack of housing opportunities for the poor in the urban areas, demolition of informal settlements and corruption in the real estate sector but considerable cynicism exists regarding the ability of courts to bring about any meaningful change. In the meantime, we will urge upon the new government to give at least some attention to the housing crisis which is degrading lives of a substantial part of the population. Some of the measures which could prove useful in this context, could include a reduction in the overall population growth rate, checking the migration to urban centres by encouraging the establishment of industries in the rural areas and keeping a close watch on the developers and builders to stop the exploitation of households with small means.
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