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 institutionsplan independently of district governments. This makes the planning for andgovernance 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 ofthe city’s population but, in reality, almost 90 percent of the city’spopulation use some kind of sewerage system, half of it built by communities.

Elaborate government plans, often supported by major foreignloans, ignore what communities and local governments have achieved over theyears. Lack of information about existing infrastructure encouragescorruption, and over-designed and overpriced projects are implemented withoutproper technical supervision.

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

In 1988 OPP evolvedinto Orangi Pilot Project - Research and TrainingInstitute (OPP-RTI) to expand the work. OPPhas developed a low-costand contextually appropriate system of local-level management and communityself-funding:

• Inorder to ensure individuals are driven by ideals, not prospects of financialreward, OPP salaries are lower than those of other non-governmental organisations.
• Determined to preserve itsindependence, OPP does not seek large-scale funding from donors.
• High standards of openness and financialtransparency are central to building relationships.
• Staff numbers are kept low by training community members asactivists and mappers, and encouraging them towork themselves.

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

OPP’s experience shows that:

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