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Karachi is the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan with a population of 207,774,520 (Statistics, 2017). Ironically, a megacity of a developing state has its drawbacks and discrepancies in solid waste mechanism being one of them. Karachi has always been the center of businesses and government offices since independence, first as capital of Pakistan and later as a provincial capital. This study evaluates the importance of solid waste management for an urban city such as Karachi, and the steps which have been taken by the successive governments to fulfill the demands of this growing megapolis since independence. In this study, models of solid waste management adopted by different cities will be analyzed and a suitable model for Karachi will be proposed. Needless to say, Karachi has the potential to become an eco-friendly city by adopting the public private partnership. In short, the civil society's role is of paramount importance.
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Mehmood et al. /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 10(1) 78-83, 2019
78
c
Urban Solid Waste Management in Karachi, Pakistan
Hajra Mahmood,1 Muhammad Moiz Khan2*
Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, Pakistan
Department of History, University of Karachi, Pakistan
*Email: moiz200@yahoo.com
Received: 29 March, 2019 Accepted: 18 April, 2019
Abstract: Karachi is the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan with a population of 207,774,520 (Statistics, 2017).
Ironically, a megacity of a developing state has its drawbacks and discrepancies in solid waste mechanism being one of
them. Karachi has always been the center of businesses and government offices since independence, first as capital of
Pakistan and later as a provincial capital. This study evaluates the importance of solid waste management for an urban
city such as Karachi, and the steps which have been taken by the successive governments to fulfill the demands of this
growing megapolis since independence. In this study, models of solid waste management adopted by different cities
will be analyzed and a suitable model for Karachi will be proposed. Needless to say, Karachi has the potential to
become an eco-friendly city by adopting the public private partnership. In short, the civil society’s role is of paramount
importance.
Keywords: Solid-waste management, refuse, overpopulation, planning, landfill.
Introduction
It was necessary to study the Urban Master Plans of
Karachi in order to propose a suitable model for solid
waste management. Crucially, we tried to strike
congruence between the aims and goals set out by the
different governments and how successful they were in
achieving their targets. It is rather unfortunate that
since the independence of Pakistan in 1947, there have
only been four Master Plans for Karachi.
1) Great Karachi Plan 1952
2) Karachi Development Plan 1985
3) Karachi Development 2000
4) Karachi Development 2020
Except the Karachi Development Plan 1985, all were
approved by the government. Furthermore, in the first
plan of 1952, there was no particular heading or
subheading for solid waste management. The biggest
loophole in the 1985 plan was its lack of direction.
Instead of stressing upon what should be done, the plan
was peppered with vague suggestions of what could be
done. The Master Plan 2000 was a progress towards
development, although it had not elucidated upon the
strategies, policies, and their implementation. One is
left bewildered after learning that the role of
authorities and masses, a catalyst in solid waste
management, wasn't given its due share. The Master
Plan 2020, which was issued in 2007, is well drafted.
Not only does it show the clarity of ideas, aims and
objectives of the team, but also studies the previous
three plans in the light of problems faced by the
previous governments. It also includes the ways in
which the current and future governments would tackle
the problem of solid waste.
Well, we are nearing mid-2019, but Karachi is far from
achieving its solid waste management targets.
Disturbingly, the current situation is even worse than
what it was a decade back.
1. Karachi Solid Waste
When it comes to producing solid waste, Karachi has
trodden an upward trajectory. From 2000 tonnes per
day prior to 1974 (Karachi Plan 1974-85) it gradually
moved to 6000 tonnes in 2001 (Mansoor Ali and
Hasan, 2001). However, by 2005, it had leapfrogged to
9000 tonnes per day (Zaheer, 2007). Now, it stands at a
staggering 12000 tonnes per day (Mahmood, 2019).
Multiple factors have contributed to the vast growth of
garbage in Karachi. Overpopulation, apparently,
enjoys the dubious distinction. The vast migration that
had started in 1947, continued till 2001 when the war
on terror was initiated. Replicating the scenario of the
1979 Afghan-Soviet war, Karachi once again
witnessed the influx of Afghan refugees.
Karachi has always accommodated the rapidly
growing population. There have been five mass
migrations in the city excluding the internal
displacement. However, if the growth spurt is so
frequent, it becomes quite a herculean task for a city to
plan settlements and manage the resulting solid waste.
In addition to that, people living in Katchi Abadis were
deprived of solid waste disposal facilities. Hence, they
dumped solid waste in natural drains, streets or open
plots. The proliferation of fast food restaurants in 21st
century took improper solid waste disposal to a new
Open Access
ISSN: 2223-957X
Int. J. Econ. Environ. Geol. Vol. 10 (1) 78-83, 2019
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Mehmood et al. /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 10(1) 78-83, 2019
79
level. The smaller restaurants mostly do not adhere to
the relevant policies towards hygiene and health and
sadly, dispose solid waste out in the open.
Today, the refuse management is worst in Karachi as
bridges, roads, localities are surrounded by solid waste.
In 2014, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board
was formed under the ‘Act of Sindh Assembly’ to
manage and control the refusal system. Previously,
Karachi’s solid waste management fell under the
ambits of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation
(KMC) and 13 other districts, but now it's handled by
Sindh Solid Waste Management Board.
The (Table 1) summarizes the names of the agencies
involved in collection and transportation of solid waste
in Karachi. These statistics have been shared by the
KMC.
Fig. 1 Land under control Karachi (Hasan, 2015).
Table 1. The following table summarizes the names of
the agencies involved for collection and transportation
of waste in Karachi given by KMC official.
1.
KMC through its Six DMCs now SSWMB
7
2.
KDA/MDA/LDA
1
3.
Cantonment Boards
5
4.
Sea Port (Karachi Port Trust and Bin Qasim)
2
5.
Airports (Civil Aviation)
1
6.
Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate (SITE), / New
Karachi Industrial Area, / Korangi Industrial area
3
7.
Pakistan Railways/ Steel Mill/Steel Town/ PWD
3
Importance of Waste Management System
Solid waste has been in existence since the inception of
human beings. The only difference between the present
and the past is that most of the waste produced before
industrialization was organic in nature, easily absorbed
by the soil. But in today’s age of urbanization, Karachi
is not the only city facing refuse management
problems. In-fact, is now a global dilemma. Developed
countries have managed the problem in time, owing to
their compassionate attitude towards the environment.
What is more, is that they are also technologically
equipped for this.
London was the first city to introduce the structure for
managing the problem by door to door garbage
collection in 1900 s, and it has evolved during the
years in tandem with the population growth and
economic expansion. Similarly, other urban cities are
also facing the same challenge and have realized the
importance of solid waste management. Sau Paulo
state in Brazil has been trying to bring the informal
waste pickers into the formal system that can ensure
the governance of the recycling process.
In addition to that, New York city has also taken steps
to counter the refuse by facilitating waste recycling.
Infact, entrepreneurs are providing waste management
and recycle services to housing societies, buildings,
and companies (Ahmed, 2017).
Fig. 2 Showing the top countries that recycle the most in the world
(Grey, 2017).
This chart indicates that these countries have achieved
the goal of managing solid waste. Despite the fact that
most of European states and have been working on this
goal from more than a century, some states have left
them behind. Indeed, if there is a political will than the
aim can be achieved regardless of the new or old
system.
Solid Waste Management System in Karachi:
Karachi, a city with a heart bigger than its land, has the
highest number of ethnic groups, and accounts for
more than 6% of National population in Pakistan,
According to Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC),
this city produces various categories of solid waste
which are household municipal waste, commercial
Mehmood et al. /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 10(1) 78-83, 2019
80
waste, institutional waste, restaurant waste, street
sweepings, landscaping waste, agricultural waste,
animal slaughterhouse waste, fish market waste,
vegetable market waste, sewage sludge, and tires. All
of these categories constitute Karachi’s refuse along
with other industrial, hospital, and hazardous wastes.
How did the solid waste system evolve in this
megacity and what were the contributing factors, steps
taken by authorities and their results have been
discussed over a span of four time periods, from 1947
to 2018.
3.1. During 1947 - 1967:
14, 1947 August brought new challenges to the ‘Paris
of Asia. Mass migration was seen in the city from three
different routes namely Sindh, Punjab and through sea.
After independence, Karachi was declared the capital
of the state which made it the hub for government
offices and businesses, thus attracting the educated
populace and labor force to the city.
The population rose to 1,064, 557 in 1951 from
435,887 in 1941, with a growth rate of 161% (Khan,
2016). Later on, in 1958, another wave of migration
took place, this time the evacuees were from India who
were disbanded for being traitors (Khan, 2016). The
city merited extra attention, especially after losing its
capital status. However, no local government or system
was introduced considering that it was the biggest
economic hub of the country. Due to the political
tensions between different political parties, the city
was not given as much importance, as is still the case
in 2019.
After independence, the significance of a Master Plan
for Karachi was strongly recognized, and
consequently, the Plan of 1952 was introduced.
Though infrastructural and urban developments were
given a fillip, solid waste management was neglected
for an unknow reason thus, the consequences were not
good for the city and its residents.
Furthermore, garbage collections operated from door
to door in those but were thrown into open areas far
away from the population of each locality and roads
were cleaned with water as well. These responsibilities
were fulfilled by people of Municipal Commission
which was made during British rule.
Karachi Plan 1952 was very beneficial for the city
because the infrastructure and societies were made
through its implementation but it was plan with no
solid waste management that could have helped in
sustaining the population growth of the city with
proper refuse collection system and dumping sites.
With no proper management from the start, effects will
be seen in near future with the rapid growth of
population. In addition to that, no other plan was made
for this fast-growing urban city of Pakistan.
Fig. 3 A history of Karachi’s garbage outbreaks, 2017): Picture of
refuse in 1985 (Paracha).
During 1968 1988:
Between 1968 and 1988, two big catastrophes struck
Pakistan and Karachi suffered quite a lot. Firstly, the
separation of East Pakistan led to the influx of hordes
of migrants in the city. Secondly, the Afghan refugees
came in, who blended with the Pakistani citizens. Only
two city Mayors served during this time, and that too
after the ‘Sindh Local Ordinance 1979’ was
promulgated in 1979. Later on, the 1985 ethnic riots
were a major setback for the improvement of refuse
system.
In 1986, the Karachi Plan 2000 was drafted, and it was
a reflection on the growing solid waste problem. The
plan was made under the city Mayor Abdul Sattar
Afghani and his team. It was a step forward in
developing the solid waste system. Later on, in 1988
the Mayor of city, he established the department of
solid waste management (SWM) in KMC, which was
responsible for financial allocations, drafting and
approval of local legislation.
When the Karachi plan 1974 was not approved and the
influx of population was prevalent, the lack of local
governance for the ensuing 17 years exacerbated the
problem. Furthermore, in this unapproved plan, no
proper strategy was devised for solid waste
management. An urban city like Karachi with no plan
from 1952 till 1985 resulted in poor condition (Fig.
3.3) to observe that how the old system failed.
3.3. 1989 - 2009:
In this era, during both the democratic government
tenures and the dictatorship regime, Karachi witnessed
Mehmood et al. /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 10(1) 78-83, 2019
81
a population increase. It was either the policy of
favoritism by political leaders who formed coterie at
the higher positions, or by internal migration of labor
for completion of numerous projects that started under
the M.K. Mayor. Another contributing factor was the
riots, that broke out in 1990s between the ethnic
groups, which destabilized the solid waste system in
Karachi. Heaps of garbage were found on roadsides,
vacant lands and in sewage drains.
This era marked both the chaos and the betterment of
Karachi. In 1990’s, due to uncertainties in Karachi, the
local government system had collapsed. In 1995, the
Japanese International Coordination Agency (JICA)
invested in the solid waste management program in
Karachi but the agreement was cancelled due to some
reasons (Director Operations, 2019). In the mid-1990s,
a landfill site at Surjani was also identified with the
help of World Bank, where both the landfill sites of
Karachi exist today; Gond pass and Jam Chakhro. In
1997-98, a contract with a Chinese firm was signed for
integrated waste, land filling, door to door collection
and construction of garbage transfer stations (GTS) but
it was terminated later on (Mahmood, 2019).
However, in the 21st century, more authority was
given to city governments and the efforts were made to
counter the refuse problem. Furthermore, Karachi Plan
2020 which was made with emphasis on solid waste
management with short term and long-term goals in
accordance with the needs of the city.
With an increasing population, the waste is also
increasing at an alarming rate, but in the 21st Century,
the problem was managed better than the previous
years and the future looks promising as well. The
sewerage line was kept clean so that waste doesn’t
accumulate in it. The agreement with the Chinese
company was canceled due to lack of required
machinery for the process, besides some other
unknown reasons. The burning of garbage in landfill
sites, where every type of waste is dumped, is leading
to air pollution and various diseases in the surrounding
areas.
3.4. 2010 - 2018:
After devolution of local government ordinance 2001,
the responsibility of waste collection and
transportation came under Town Administrators, and
treatment and disposal of refuse was handed over to
the City District Government Karachi (CDGK). Rapid
increase in fast food chain restaurants during these 8
years has been immense. These restaurants have
opened up in cantonment areas and even small
congested areas. The absence of a Mayor for five years
after 2010 had affected an already outdated system of
solid waste management.
Under the Sindh Act No.4 of 2014, the Sindh Solid
Waste Management board was formed which was
responsible for the solid waste management of areas
that fell under KMC. Importantly, all the documents
and information had to be transferred to this Board
from solid waste management department in KMC.
According to the Director Operations of Solid Waste
Management Board (SSWMB), Karachi now has 12
GTS with 5 operative ones in EMB Cosway (District
East), Sharafi Goth (District Malir), Baldia (District
West), Kasba (District West) and Dhobi Ghaath
(District South). Moreover, four of these GTS are
planned to be scientific, where anaerobic digestion will
be used to produce electricity in the near future.
According to the Secretary of SSWMB 80% of
garbage is lifted from the grounds and dumped into
GTS and later on at night it is transferred to landfill
sites. However, according to the survey on solid waste
management for this study, 74.8% of the population is
not satisfied with the government's efforts in
countering the disposal problem, 23.7% is unsure,
while 1.5% gave the nod of approval.
Fig. 4.1 Describes the recyclable goods (Zabaleta, 2008).
General
composition
Typical
composition
Specific
composition
Recyclable
Materials
ORGANIC
Biodegradable
material
Food and
vegetables
Recyclable
Paper and
cardboard
Paper and
cardboard
Recyclable
Plastics
HDPE, LDPE,
PVC
Recyclable
Clothes and
fabrics
Leather,
rubber, fabrics
Recyclable
Garden waste
leaves and
grass
Recyclable
Wood
Wood
Recyclable
Organic
wastes
Bones
Recyclable
INORGANIC
Metals
Cans,
aluminium
Recyclable
Glass
Non-colours
and colours
Recyclable
Soil and ashes
Soil and ashes
Recyclable
Non-classified
materials
Voluminous
objects
Recyclable
In these 8 years, Karachi has seen more refuse on
roads, under the bridges and in localities than ever
before. Open dumping of garbage is more common and
lifting of waste on regular basis is a rare. This has led
the citizens to burn solid waste, which causes air
pollution producing Carbon monoxide, Carbon dioxide
and Nitrogen oxide. Practice of burning garbage has
led to the deterioration of air quality in Karachi. The
Plan 2020, that looks very promising, has not been
implemented so far. Health problems such as
respiratory diseases, chest infections, cough and cold
and waterborne diseases such as gastric problems and
hepatitis are prevalent (Abbasi et al., 2015).
Mehmood et al. /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 10(1) 78-83, 2019
82
Conclusion and Recommendations
Solid waste management is a problem for every
society, but it varies according to the respective
history, socio-cultural values, population, and political
situation. To counter the refuse problem in Karachi,
various steps have been taken such as agreements with
foreign companies, private recycling companies, and
informal waste pickers. Currently under the Sindh
Solid Waste Management Board system (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4.2 The current system is not enough to sustain the severe waste
conditions in Karachi.
There should be more transparency between the
masses and the government as public doesn’t have
easy access to the information about either the factors
or steps taken by the government. Computerized and
manual data should be kept for the functioning of the
government properly and it will help future
governments as well for they can be aware about the
projects as well. Discussion with the KMC officials
showed that no computerized data is kept. Relevant
employees should be hired to make work more
effective.
A board should be formed where all the land owners of
Karachi should be given a membership. In this way,
they can collectively work on the problem and help
each other in terms of using innovative techniques to
counter solid waste problem. A meeting should be held
at least once a month.
Fig. 4.4
Educational institutes play a vital role in this sector for
they can help motivate their students to recycle and
undertake garbage collections through different
activities and volunteer programs. For example,
agricultural waste can be recycled through four ways,
out of which, two can be done in households like the
use of vegetable biomass as a fertilizer for the
production of vegetables and fruits; and it can also be
used as food for livestock. The other two methods can
be espoused for energy production and chemical
products production (Maria et al., 2005).
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... There are six cantonments in Karachi, they manage and dispose of their waste under their jurisdictions and pay dumping costs to SSWMB for disposal of waste at Garbage Transport System (GTS) and Landfill sites of SSWMB and KMC. There are no reliable current trash generation statistics available, however 12000 tonnes per day was reported by (Mahmood & Khan, 2019) With the increasing development of population and economic activity, the amount of solid waste is predicted to significantly increase. Solid waste generation is expected to reach 16,000 to 18,000 tons per day by 2020, according to estimates UNESCAPE, (2013). ...
... To make work more efficient, relevant staff should be hired. (Mahmood & Khan, 2019). Socio-economic benefits can be taken by the implementation of a comprehensive solid waste management system that is predicted to have a significant positive impact on the city's socio-economic situation. ...
... It was found that technical and physical Barriers, organizational barriers, social-cultural barriers, financial barriers, legal and political barriers, population growth are the main barriers to effective and efficient management of solid waste activities in Karachi. The technical and physical barriers were reported by (Afzal, 2021) moreover organizational barriers were highlighted by (Mahmood & Khan, 2019) socio-cultural barriers, financial barriers, legal and political barriers, population growth was robustly analyzed by (Yukalang et al., 2017). The outcome of the solid waste management process becomes unsuccessful due to a lack of funding and inefficient solid waste management. ...
... Since Pakistan's independence, Karachi has been the focus of commercial and financial offices, first as the country's capital and then as a provincial capital. Solid waste management is a critical issue in the city [2]. The lack of resources raises the fundamental challenge of solid waste management. ...
... Distance  Square root (r1x-Px) 2 + (r1y -Py) 2 ...
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... On the other hand, Pakistan meets some of its energy needs with renewable sources such as hydro and solar (Yaqoob et al., 2021). While Pakistan has a range of wastes, including food wastes, paper wastes, plastic wastes, materials, and metal wastes dumped at a waste site openly, like that of other developing countries (Mahmood and Khan, 2019). Moreover, waste incineration is a common practice in which waste is minimized, and valuables (like metals) obtained from e-waste are recovered (Haydar et al., 2016;Ahmed et al., 1998). ...
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Thesis reviews urban situation of Karachi and the environmental and social impacts of waste on urban growth. Today the population has grown with such rapidity that an uncontrollable amount of garbage is being generated. This is a great concern for metropolitan city like Karachi as is generates 10,000 tons of solid waste on daily basis out of which only 4000 t0ns is lifted and dumping at land fill site daily basis by SSWMB.The consequent impact of improper solid waste disposal and their haphazard treatment not only destroy the aesthetics of Karachi city but also create severe impacts on health by chronic diseases and environmental pollutions.Dumping of solid wastes in Karachi cites is a stinging and wide spread problem. it should be resolved technically feasible, compatible, socially acceptable, financially sustainable and solid waste management issue is the one of the major challenge of the authorities of mega city. The conventional landfill sites is also important role in current situation. Thus the goal of this thesis is to understand the SSWM Karachi and come up with an sustainability. This study will look at the most practical means of resolving Karachi's solid waste problems without affecting those who are already working in this field, and in a responsible manner.
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Food waste is a global issue; around 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste is generated annually, with Pakistan producing 36 million tonnes of food waste. Consequently, restaurants are the leading source of food waste. However, identifying the causes and dangers of food waste in the restaurant's process flow is crucial. As a result, a restaurant framework is necessary for process flow rectification and identification of critical control points. The current research, which employed a qualitative approach, establishes a framework that outlines the critical controls and their impact on social, environmental, and economic issues. The data was gathered through structured interviews and observations from multiple eateries. The framework includes redesigning flexible menus, offering employee training, reducing plate sizes, implementing a forecasting system, and implementing a lean inventory management system to effectively reduce food waste. The paper presents policy suggestions to food regulatory agencies and restaurants based on its research and approach
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Open disposal is the most common technique used for municipal solid waste (MSW) manage-ment due to the absence of sanitary landfills in Pakistan. The major cities and small towns in Pa-kistan have become a showcase of negligence and mismanagement of MSW, which results in deterioration of the environmental and social-life quality. Moreover, research has proved that inefficient handling (disposal) of MSW results in uncontrolled emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), mainly methane, and adds a significant share in global climate change. This study aims to estimate methane emissions from MSW disposed of at dumpsites and compare the GHG mit-igation potential of different landfill strategies in specific climate and waste compositions in Karachi. The GHG estimations are based on lab-scale investigations conducted by simulating landfill conditions through the landfill simulation reactor (LSR) experiment. The synthetic MSW sample representing the composition of MSW generated in Karachi was used in the LSR experi-ment. Environmental sustainability and GHG mitigation potential of different landfilling strat-egies was evaluated by analyzing gas formation potential (GP21) and respiration activity (RI4) at the end of the experiment. This study revealed that the quantity of solid waste annually disposed of at dumpsites in Karachi possesses the potential to release about 3.9 Mt CO2-eq. methane (with specific methane potential of 1.8 tCO2-eq./tonne DM disposed) due to the biological decomposi-tion of the organic fraction. Results show that the fresh waste disposed of at landfill sites in Ka-rachi possesses about 92% and 94% higher GP21 and RI4, respectively, than the German allocated criteria for mechanically and biologically treated (MBT) waste for landfills Furthermore, sani-tary landfills with post-aeration conditions showed higher GHG mitigation potential and low biological activity in the waste. The second highest GHG mitigation potential and lowest bio-logical activity of the waste was noticed from bioreactor landfills with post-aeration conditions. The third number in GHG mitigation and reduced waste activity was noticed in the waste sam-pled from bioreactors without aftercare approach. The least GHG mitigation potential was no-ticed from the uncontrolled waste dumping (existing) approach with high residual gas potential and respiration index level. This lab-scale landfill simulation study can provide baseline data for further research and planning the development of new sustainable landfills in Karachi, Pakistan and in the region.
Thesis
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Karachi is the fastest growing city in the world. It is the only city which has grown from .43 million people to 20 million people in last 69 year (since independence). With this rate of population increase Karachi will not be a sustainable city. Already the city is facing multiple problems which no other city of Pakistan faces. It has become imperative to ponder upon the causes and impacts of the high population growth of Karachi. The links to extra ordinary growth of Karachi can be traced through the analysis of historical patterns of demographic transformation of the city. There are various factors responsible for this unprecedented increase, one very important factor is the political policy making regarding Karachi or for rest of Pakistan that affected demographic transformation of the city. Internal migration is a phenomenon that has caused many problems for Pakistan. There is no regulating authority to have a check over internal migration in Pakistan. Due to such migration in many parts most of the labor force move towards destinations with better employment opportunities. Although the labor working in Karachi sends money back to their home towns however those areas suffer in terms of further development. Generally it is considered that due high migration in Karachi only Karachi suffers, however the towns from where the people are migrating also suffer. The gulf between the push factors of rural areas of Pakistan and pull factors of Karachi is widening. The failure of successive governments to develop Pakistan equally has resulted in few urban centers with better opportunities for most of Pakistanis. Today best education, employment, medical facilities and life style is available only in Karachi. In recent years social society and academia has started to debate the multiple problems of Karachi. Most of the debate revolves around providing solutions with in Karachi such as more developmental funds, more police, planning etc. One important factor is ignored in this debate and that is developing other cities on the echelons of Karachi. The main cause behind the internal migration towards Karachi from all across Pakistan is the difference of the city in comparison to other towns and cities. Efforts should be made to uplift the standards of education, health and commercial activity in other parts of Pakistan. Such as in Sind Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana can be developed to parallel Karachi. This will divert rural migrants away from Karachi. Likewise in other provinces Multan, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Naushera, Quetta, Mardan and Gawadar are developed on scale of the development of Karachi then the people living in the respective provinces will not head towards Karachi for better livelihood. The first step towards solving the problems of Karachi is to control the flow of migrants coming in Karachi. Simultaneously work should be done on other solutions as well. The study of Historical Patterns of Demographic Transformation of Post-Colonial Karachi reveals that the solution to Karachi’s problem are multi façade.
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Impact assessment is a powerful tool that has been remarkably successful in allowing the consideration of social, economic and environmental effects. The development in Pakistan is supported with the growth of the gross domestic product, the steady increase of the population and the change of lifestyle; resulting waste amounts have also increased considerably. Karachi is the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan with 10% of total population of country and generating more than 10,000 ton/ day solid waste. The main purpose of this study to assess the environmental impact of landfill sites activities in the study area. The impact of the solid waste activities in the area was consider on the area’s geomorphology, geology, air and water quality, biological resources and socio-cultural environment is considered. Potential impacts identified through review of literature, professional judgment, SWM process understanding and field observations at different landfill sites. Sampling was carried out of air, soil and groundwater samples and analysis them physical and chemical parameters. The finding of soil analyses reveals that soil is sandy with brown to yellowish brown color. pH range from 7.25 to 8.08, sulphates concentration is high. CO2 and CO level in air is higher according to national environmental quality standards. Analysis of groundwater samples showed that groundwater from most of the sites was within acceptable range. The major environmental impacts are land uptake, quality of resources, disturbance of small mammals and wild life
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