The recent stormy rain – about 200 millimeters in three days – has again postponed the chaotic and fragmented governance of Karachi. Floods revived the confusion over which agency or municipal body is responsible for basic services, additional fuel for public frustration and intensified debates on how the city is governed.
Across the border in Mumbai, nearly 800 millimeters of rain in the course of just four days disturbed the lives of millions, flooding roads, grounded flights and stopped train services, while large parts of the city were immersed in waist-deep water.
Still, the comparison is striking: Both cities endure the same climate chef, but Mumbai absorbs the effect and restore while Karachi repeatedly bursts. The contrast emphasizes a deeper reality – governance, economic capacity and urban planning make all the difference.
Karachi’s ongoing vivity crisis is highlighted by its location as the fourth least habitable city in the world, 170. Out of 173 cities, in the 2025 Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index. In contrast, Mumbai lies at 121., which reflects something better, but still challenging, urban conditions.
Karachi and Mumbai are megacities of more than 20 million people. But while Mumbai has built stronger urban institutions, Karachi has been systematically weakened by political fragmentation and intentional neglect. The results are visible everywhere: In case of collapsed infrastructure, inadequate services and declining quality of life.
The financial contrast is conspicuous. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s budget from 2024–25 is INR26,835 Crore, approx. 3.2 billion dollars. That equates to $ 160 per Person for a population of approx. 20 million. Nearly 76% of this revenue is raised locally through property taxes, utility fees and development fees -with the rest from Maharashtra State transfers, including inr9,984 crore in Octroi compensation.
This robust base allows Mumbai to continue investing in infrastructure and services year after year. In comparison, Karachi is fighting.
Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s budget from 2025-26 is RS55 billion – only $ 196 million. Adding other municipal agencies, cantons, DHA and provincial departments, the city’s expenses are estimated at just $ 300 million to $ 500 million, although a lack of transparency makes it difficult to get a clear tax picture of the entire city.
For a population of 20 million, this only translates $ 14.7 to $ 25 per year. Person annually – six to eleven times less than Mumbai. Such chronic underfunding results in unsuccessful services, crumbling roads and water that never reach millions of homes.
Mumbai’s suburban track illustrates what serious urban planning can achieve. It runs over 450 kilometers of tracks, operates over 2,300 daily train services and carries more than 7.5 million passengers each day. In contrast, Karachi has nothing comparable. The city depends on dilapidated buses, minibuses, rickshaws and vans – all overlooked and unreliable.
The Sindh government has promised 8,000 electrical buses, but the actual delivery has hardly begun. Karachi Breeze Bus Rapid Transit Project is tied in delays.
The construction of the green line started in 2016, yet it was only partially opened in 2021 after finance holes, bureaucratic team-ups and the pandemic. For a city in this scale, the absence of functional mass transit is paralyzed.
Karachi’s financial and service -Fonde is worsened by chaotic urban planning.
It has become a concrete jungle characterized by violent corruption, uncontrolled property development and the absence of a robust local government system. Adding to the city’s planning error is Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA), which is responsible for regulating construction and enforcement security codes, long been plagued by incompetence, corruption and weak enforcement. A tragic example came in July 2025 when a five-story building in Lyari collapsed and killed 27 people.
The DHA and Cantonment boards control the wealthy zones – DHA spans 36 square kilometers (1% of Karachi), Malir Cantonment about 12 square kilometers – with the six cantons and DHA together to control 20-30% of the city.
The PPP-led Sindh government, which was in force since 2008, oversees the remaining 70-80%, with 17 million of Karachi’s 20 million inhabitants living (according to Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation’s website). It bears the main responsibility for the city’s chronic failure and development.
Fragmentation undermines governance at the core. Each municipal or cantons works independently with little coordination to enable economies of scale, joint investments or strategic planning. The result is duplicate tasks, conflicting priorities and weak accountability. Many describe Karachi’s fragmented governance as a little more than the Division of Territory among powerful stakeholders.
Karachi’s under -representation in politics adds this neglect. The city elects 22 of Pakistan’s 266 National Assembly Members (8.3%) on general seats and 47 of Sindh’s 130 provincial assembly members on general seats (36.1%), yet it has only two federal cabinet sites (out of 43) and two provincial ministries (out of 18). The imbalance reduces Karachi’s influence in decisions on budgets and reforms despite its financial weight and demographic significance.
The city’s failures are most visible in water. Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation delivers about 423 million gallons a day, just under a third of the required 1,080 – 1,200 mgd. The dependence of this hole forces on over 10,000 water tankers, many controlled by a “tanker mafia” accused of having delayed an estimated 272 mgd, or 41% of the city’s supply. Karachi also loses 30 – 40% of the pipe water through leaks from an aging network, some of it dating back to the 1950s.
In addition to water, Karachi suffers every day from gridlocked traffic, collapsed waste management and inadequate storm routing leading to floods with each monsoon. Climate risk connection These crises: Heat waves and intense storms are increasingly threatening millions of residents. Informal settlements where basic infrastructure is absent affects hardest.
In sharp contrast, Mumbai demonstrates how strong institutions, economic autonomy and political empowerment support resilience. Its ability to raise significant local revenue while also drawing state resources maintains continuous investments in services. The lesson is clear: Coherent governance and authorized local bodies are crucial for urban survival and growth.
However, Karachi is controlled by a model similar to Urban Apartheid. The well-known neighborhoods enjoy superior services and infrastructure, while mostly mid-and-lower-income areas face relentless decay and neglect under the SINDH PROVINS Government.
The Clifton Bridge, which is largely seen as both a physical and symbolic gap, separates these privileged enclaves from the rest of the city. While about 380,000 inhabitants live south of the bridge, 98% reside beyond it and highlights a sharp boundary between privilege and neglect that emphasizes the deep socio -economic segregation fracture of carache’s urban fabric.
The path forward requires urgent reform. Karachi will unite its fragmented municipal and cantonet authorities into a single metropolitan body to enable strategic planning, reduce waste and improve services. Strengthening local revenue collection is important. There is a need for bold investments, especially to rehabilitate water pipes and run utilizing cartels such as the tanker mafia.
The World Bank’s Karachi City Diagnostic 2018 estimated nearly $ 10 billion in capital investments over a decade to close critical gaps in transport, water, sanitation and waste management – the key to making Karachi a fully and financially competitive.
As Pakistan’s economic backbone, Karachi’s future is at serious risk. Decades of neglect, dysfunction and underfunding have brought the city to the brim. Without bold reforms, increased funding and overall governance, Karachi faces collapse – crumbling infrastructure, rising inequality and growing turmoil.
Realizing its potential requires political will, competent leadership and a national obligation to save a city of Pakistan cannot afford to lose.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and does not necessarily reflect Pakinomist.tv’s editorial policy.
The author is former head of Citigroup’s new markets Investments and author of ‘The Gathering Storm’.
Originally published in the news
