KARACHI: Expressing concern over worsening civic condition in Katchi Abadies and Goths of Karachi, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here on Sunday urged the government to adopt pro-poor budgeting as slums remain starved of civic funds.
He said there is a deepening civic crisis in Karachi, showing a severe imbalance in the allocation of municipal funds. While upscale neighborhoods receive hefty budgets for infrastructure and beautification, the megacity’s sprawling slum areas remain starved of civic funds and left to languish with meagre facilities and negligible investment.
He regretted that there is a systemic bias in the utilization of the Sindh Local Government budget.
He said high-income areas such as Clifton, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), and Gulshan-e-Iqbal have seen rapid upgrades in recent years, including the repaving of roads, the installation of new streetlights, and the development of landscaped parks.
In stark contrast, densely populated low-income settlements like Orangi Town, Lyari, Sachal Goth and Machar Colony continue to suffer from crumbling infrastructure, open sewage lines, and a lack of clean drinking water.
“Karachi is becoming a city of two distinct realities,” said Shakoor. “We are seeing a trend where wealthier districts receive funding for cosmetic upgrades and non-essential infrastructure, while residents in slum areas are struggling to access the most basic human necessities. This is not just negligence; it is a structural failure that exacerbates poverty and marginalization,” he said.
He said the per capita spending on infrastructure in posh areas is many times higher than in neglected areas such as Lyari.
He said the slums lack proper water supply and regular garbage collection. These areas often face weeks without water and rely on open drains that overflow during the monsoon season.
There is visible correlation between the lack of civic facilities in slums and the outbreak of waterborne diseases, which are rarely a concern in the megacity’s wealthier enclaves.
Altaf Shakoor said the disparity is particularly jarring given that the residents of these neglected areas form the backbone of Karachi’s workforce, providing labor for the megacity’s industries, construction, and service sectors.
The people living in these slums are not asking for luxury; they are asking for dignity, Shakoor added.
The local government must immediately audit its spending to ensure equitable distribution of funds, he demanded.
He asked the Sindh Local Government Department and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to adopt a pro-poor budgeting approach. He demanded an immediate halt to non-essential development in already affluent areas and a redirection of those funds toward upgrading the water, sanitation, and waste management systems in the megacity’s neglected slums.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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