Karachi: PDP says lack of basic amenities hampering housing sector

KARACHI: Lack of basic utilities of water, electricity and gas is badly hampering the housing sector in Karachi as thousands of new housing societies and settlements are uninhabited due to this reason, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.

He said billions of rupees of citizens are invested in new housing societies that are non-functional due to the lack of basic facilities. He said hundreds of thousands of houses and flats are fully constructed in these new housing societies and settlements but people could not live in them because they have no water, electricity and gas connections.

He said these new settlements mostly situated at suburban areas of the megacity like Gadap, Hawksbay, Northern Bypass, Superhighway and Surjani need urgent attention of the government as they desperately need water, electricity, gas and public transport.

He said Scheme 42 Hawksbay is the classic example of neglect and poor governance of the Sindh government, as Lyari Development Authority (LDA) has failed to develop this large scheme despite the passage of almost two decades.

He said the LDA is deeply marred with corruption and the poor allottees of the Scheme 42 are victims of its neglect and ineffectiveness. He demanded that the higher officials of LDA should be sacked and some honest and capable officers posted to replace them. He said people have invested their lifetime earnings in the Scheme 42 and they should be doled out.

Altaf Shakoor said if the new housing societies and schemes are provided with water, gas and electricity connections, hundreds of thousands of families would be facilitated and it would greatly boost the economy of the megacity. He said it would also help in reducing congestion in the mid areas of Karachi and give the megacity a better look. He said new bus routes should be announced for these suburbs of Karachi to facilitate commuters.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025