1,500 shelterless labourers to get flats, houses' ownership letters on Thursday: Zulfi

ISLAMABAD: Shelterless Industrial labourers of the Federal Capital will get possession letters of over 1,500 houses and flats on Thursday as the Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) has completed all the arrangements for its balloting.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate fully constructed phase I of Labour Complex at Japan Road Zone V Islamabad tomorrow and distribute possession certificates of 1,000 flats and 500 houses among the eligible workers after transparent balloting process, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari said on Wednesday.

He was speaking to a selected group of journalists at his office.

Zulfikar Bukhari aka Zulfi Bukhari said the prime minister would also break the ground for second phase of the Labour Complex which would be developed on modern lines to provide accommodations to more than 1,500 labourers of the federal capital.

He said the first phase was started in 2011 but remained in limbo due to slackness of the previous government which was more focused on looting the public money by making kickbacks in mega projects.

The SAPM said the present government, soon after coming into the power, revived the sick project and fully developed the flats and houses which were abandoned in the past.

He said another major initiative was taken by the government that was meant to change the WWF housing allotment policy. The policy was changed with approval of the federal cabinet.

Zulfi Bukhari said under the new policy, the workers would be entitled to get the incentives being offered by the banks to a lender for financing a housing facility under the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

Unlike past, now they would be provided houses on ownerships basis instead of rental ones, he added.

Explaining the eligibility criteria for the workers, he said they should not have any allotment in any housing scheme or did not own a property.

Adding further, he said the worker should not be convicted by any court of law and did not own more than Rs 500,000 assets, and must be registered with Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) or Employees Social Security.

To a query, he said the workers would get their own house against Rs around 2.6 million payment due to the incentives being provided under the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

According to an official source in the WWF, the first phase of Labour Complex spanned around 2,560 Kanals and completed with a cost of over 5,079.751 millions.

He said each flat covered 750 Square feet and had two rooms, and a kitchen, lounge and bathroom. While, each house built at 775 square feet area having ground floor, rooms, kitchen, lounge and bathroom.

The complex had other amenities including Masjid, utility stores, community center dispensary, water supply networks, gross drainage and sewerage works, he added.

As regards second phase, the official said it would have model school for girls and boys, poly technical college, parks, playground and many other amenities.