Putting people at the centre of informal settlement upgrading in Pakistan

The Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) has transformed sewage systems in low income, informal settlements (‘katchi abadi’), where 60 percent of Karachi’s population lives. OPP has challenged development approaches, which are very technical and overly-dependent on government and donor support. Such approaches treat poor communities as objects, rather than drivers, of development.

A report for the International Institute for Environment and Development, in the UK, explores how OPP has expanded from a focus on the ‘katchi abadi’ of Orangi to become an important voice on issues related to sewerage, drainage sanitation and informal settlement upgrading across Karachi.

Federal, provincial and military institutions plan independently of district governments. This makes the planning for and governance of Pakistan’s largest city problematic. Sanitation and drainage infrastructure have not been comprehensively mapped. According to official estimates, the sewerage system serves only 40 percent of the city’s population but, in reality, almost 90 percent of the city’s population use some kind of sewerage system, half of it built by communities.

Elaborate government plans, often supported by major foreign loans, ignore what communities and local governments have achieved over the years. Lack of information about existing infrastructure encourages corruption, and over-designed and overpriced projects are implemented without proper technical supervision.

OPP has achieved credibility over years of rigorous mapping and documentation, showing authorities what exists and encouraging communities to value their achievements and aspire to do more. OPP’s model of low-cost sanitation gives residents the responsibility of building household and lane-level sanitation infrastructure. Municipal authorities are responsible for building and maintaining secondary infrastructure including mains, disposal and treatment. Infant mortality rates have declined dramatically.

In 1988 OPP evolved into Orangi Pilot Project - Research and Training Institute (OPP-RTI) to expand the work. OPP has developed a low-cost and contextually appropriate system of local-level management and community self-funding:

• In order to ensure individuals are driven by ideals, not prospects of financial reward, OPP salaries are lower than those of other non-governmental organisations.
• Determined to preserve its independence, OPP does not seek large-scale funding from donors.
• High standards of openness and financial transparency are central to building relationships.
• Staff numbers are kept low by training community members as activists and mappers, and encouraging them to work themselves.

OPP rejects all form of subsidy, believing it inevitably leads to dependence. Subsidies tend to increase costs and cause waste. When the community contributes towards a project – providing the material and the labour, and supervising the work, costs are immediately cut: designs are simplified, methods of construction are cost-efficient, and profiteering, kickbacks and professional fees for contractors, engineers and supervisors are eliminated.

OPP’s experience shows that:

• It important to work on a single issue – or only a small number of issues – comprehensively before taking on related issues.
• In order to influence government it is vital not to be confrontational: it is necessary to work patiently over a period of time with department staff and build trusting relationships with civil servants.
• Meticulous documentation of findings, observations and processes, leading to the preparation of alternatives is critical to being taken seriously by decision-makers.

Source(s):
“Lessons from Karachi: the Role of Demonstration, Documentation, Mapping and Relationship Building in Advocacy for improved Urban Sanitation and Water Services”, Human Settlements Discussion Paper Series, Theme: Water 6, International Institute for Environment and Development, by Arif Pervaiz, Perween Rahman with Arif Hasan, August 2008 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)

id21 Research Highlight: 1 March 2009

Further Information:
Perween Rahman
Orangi Pilot Project Research and Training Institute
Plot No. St. #4, Sector 5-A
Qasba Colony, Mangopir Road
Karachi, Pakistan

Tel: +92 21 6652297
Fax: +92 216699347
Contact the contributor: opprti@cyber.net.pk

Orangi Pilot Project Research and Training Institute, Karachi, Pakistan

Arif Hasan
37-D Muhammad Ali Society
Karachi – 75359, Pakistan

Tel: 92 21 4522361
Contact the contributor: arifhasan@cyber.net.pk

Arif Pervaiz

Contact the contributor: arifpervaiz@gmail.com

Other related links:
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) - Human Settlements Programme

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'People-centred solutions: meeting urban sanitation projects without donor support'

'Learning from sanitation and hygiene progress in South Asia'

'Lessons from water and sanitation mapping in Africa and South Asia'

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'Access to land in Uganda’s informal settlements'