The development of katchi abadis is closely associated with the urbanization process taking place in developing countries. Islamabad, though a planned city that was supposed to cater to the housing requirements of all segments of society, could not avoid this phenomenon. In Islamabad, katchi abadis started from labour camps of construction workers and later with the passage of time proliferated to become sizeable communities. As per the survey of katchi abadis 1984-85, there were only eight katchi abadis in the urban area of Islamabad with 1719 households. Over the period of 30 years not only the size of katchi abadis has increased but their number has also increased to 41 with a population of more than 80,000 inhabitants. CDA has adopted different strategies to handle the issue of katchi abadis during the last four decades. Three approaches i) Redevelopment of the existing site, ii) Resettlement at some other location iii) improvement at the existing site proved successful. Unless immediate action is taken the problem will assume such dimensions that it will be impossible to bring the situation under control in the future. As a result, Islamabad would become 'Slumabad' within a very short period. Consequently, the dwellers of katchi abadi have encroached ROW of Highways, Principal Roads, developed plots, green areas, nullahs, etc. In this situation, implementation of the Master Plan of Islamabad would also not be possible.

Keywords: Katchi Abdis, Redevelopment, Resettlement, Strategies, Underprivileged Urbanization.