Naya Pakistan Housing Programme pilot project to start from January 1, 2019

ISLAMABAD: The construction of houses under the pilot project of 'Naya Pakistan Housing Programme' will start simultaneously in six districts of Punjab from January 1, 2019 as the layout plan in that regard has been completed.

Prime Minister Imran Khan would visit the sites and perform ground breaking of the project, inaugurate, Punjab's Minister for Housing and Urban Development Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed said while addressing a press conference.

He was flanked by Federal Minister of State for Housing and Works Muhammad Shabbir Ali, Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi and 23-member task force chairman Zaigham Mahmood Rizvi.

Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed said initially Faisalabad was identified for the pilot project, but now five more cities of Sailkot, Lodhran, Chiniot, Bahawalnagar (Chishitan) and Muzaffargarh had also been included in it.

The minister said deliberations were under way on the project's financial model. International firms and private land developers were taking interest in the project.

“Under the first phase, construction of 10,000 houses will start in the beginning of the next year,” he maintained.

Minister of State for Housing and Works Muhammad Shabbir Ali said provision of shelter to the low income people was the government's top priority as it was the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to uplift the downtrodden segments of the society. The government was taking the housing project as a challenge, he added.

The minister said the previous governments had also started such projects which could not be completed due to financial corruption. “The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will complete this project as the prime minister loves the poor,” he added.

Firdous Shamim Naqvi said some 12 million new houses were required in the country. Under the housing project, only those would get houses who were not in a position to construct their own houses. The target of five million houses would be met with the cooperation of private sector, he added.

He said the maiden meeting of the task force was held today and a 23-member committee had been notified.

Naqvi said the Naya Pakistan Housing Authority would be established soon, which would provide a one window facility to the people.

Chairman Task Force Zaigham Mahmood Rizvi said Prime Minister Imran Khan was strongly committed to provide shelter to the shelterless people. Such commitments were made by the former rulers also, which were never fulfilled, he added. The Prime Minister had chaired some 10 meetings on the housing project during the last 60 days which showed his seriousness, he added.

To a question, Rizvi said the government wanted to minimize borrowing from the banks and capital would be automatically available through banks when financial deficit was controlled.

To a query, Firdous Shamim Naqvi said conditions would apply for availing the facility under the project. The applicant should not own a house, besides having the financial capacity to pay monthly instalments. The government was also pondering over the option of payment of instalments from the applicant employees provident fund, he added.

He said funds were not a major challenge for the project as there would be market based funding.

Naqvi said housing was a provincial subject and that was why many meetings had been held with Sindh Minister for Local Bodies Saeed Ghani in that regard.