Karachi\u00a0(National Times)- Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday blamed urban planners for \u201cruining\u201d Karachi, adding that he saw the metropolis vastly expand and deteriorate firsthand while growing up in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In July 2025, a steering committee tasked with developing the Greater Karachi Regional Plan 2047 was informed that the new master plan of the country\u2019s commercial capital would be ready within two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing an event of the Sindh Master Plan Authority (SMPA) in Karachi, CM Murad said: \u201cMaking a master plan from scratch is easy. But considering Karachi\u2019s deteriorated condition, it is a challenge for consultants, master planners and urban developers to fix those [conditions], and also for the executive bodies to implement the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Murad noted that SMPA, established under the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) in 1968, was formed to develop urban master plans for Sindh\u2019s cities with recommendations from stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief minister said 14 master plans had been completed, but plans for Karachi and Hyderabad were under development. However, a post by the CM House quoted him as saying that master plans for 17 cities were complete, with work on 14 in final stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recalling that he grew up in Karachi and saw the metropolis\u2019 expansion firsthand, Murad said, \u201cI do not think any other city in the world has expanded as quickly as Karachi has, nor has any city in the world been ruined by planners as quickly as Karachi has.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief minister, whose PPP has ruled Sindh for about 15 years, stressed that Karachi needed to be improved. He contended that from the 1960s to the 1980s, it was a \u201cvery well-planned\u201d city which attracted foreign visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recalling an incident during the severe rains of 2020, Murad lamented that while travelling along a new dual-carriageway road from Yousuf Goth, he saw that people had set up shops along the side roads, the stormwater drains on either side of the main road and even on the median.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe planners did a very good job, but \u2026 a lot of roads have been declared commercial in the city and, to give people a livelihood, they are allowed to set up shops on stormwater drains for very cheap rent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI request the help of all stakeholders in [solving] this issue. Unless the entire city comes together to make it better, then we will not be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Murad also regretted that on several occasions, development work faced challenges due to delays from utility service providers, including the water board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also pointed out the lack of mapping of utility infrastructure: \u201cThere is no mapping anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noting Karachi\u2019s population of 25 million and how urban development work inconveniences Karachiites, the chief minister said that funds have been arranged to rework 143 roads, but the work had not started because of procurement issues, which he said, \u201ctake a lifetime, but that\u2019s how things are\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he stressed the importance of forums under SMPA to discuss urban planning and implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese types of forums, seminars and discussions will help us bring some improvement and right now, in every city \u2026 the mayors and divisional headquarters are all trying to emulate the development which has started in Karachi.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi\u00a0(National Times)- Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday blamed urban planners for \u201cruining\u201d Karachi, adding that he saw the metropolis vastly expand and deteriorate firsthand while growing up in it. In July 2025, a steering committee tasked with developing the Greater Karachi Regional Plan 2047 was informed that the new master plan of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n