Low-cost govt housing scheme shelved again

A sub-committee was to submit a detailed plan in this regard within next 10 days

ISLAMABAD: Federal cabinet’s recent decision about restarting its grandiose low-cost housing scheme was nothing but another vow of recycling its own promises pledged right after coming into power in 2013.

The project, according to several officials of Ministry of Housing and Works, is now literally shelved as “the government does not seem to be seriously interested pursuing the project.”

On April 12, a statement issued after a federal cabinet meeting quoted the prime minister as saying that he viewed urbanisation was rapidly progressing because of development activities.



“It is, therefore, crucial to cater to demands of housing across the country,” the press release stated.

The decision to go ahead with the project was taken by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after being briefed by Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal. Nawaz and his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif have shown keen interest at random occasions and the premier’s daughter even chaired a meeting at the Prime Minister secretariat.
“We never felt it [the project] would be materialised in the first place,” said an official privy to the scheme and related developments.

After the cabinet’s meeting a sub-committee was formed to be headed by the Minister for Housing Akram Khan Durrani to work out a detailed plan in this regard within the next 10 days. The panel was directed to submit its plan in the next cabinet meeting.

Other members included ministers of planning, states and frontier regions (SAFRON) and railways as well as secretaries of ministries concerned.



The PM took exception after Durrani, in one of the meetings, stated that the summary about the financial requirements to start the heme was pending with his office for over one-and-a-half years. Later the PM stressed for the need of housing sector for low income citizens and the sub-body was tasked to follow up on the issue.

The said committee held two meetings at the ministry but the officials are not much hopeful.

“It was inconclusive and the representatives of Ministry of Planning and Development were of the view that government should not be involved in purchasing government land and then constructing them for people,” an officer ministry was quoted as saying.

About the finances of the scheme, the Ministry of Finance stated that its funding would be outsourced either through World Bank on Asian Development Bank.

“In nutshell the government seems half-hearted about the project and these meetings were the eye-opener for the housing minister and secretary that this project cannot go beyond meetings and paperwork,” said another senior officer at the ministry.

The scheme

In the federal budget for 2013-14, the government announced that it would provide 500,000 housing units to the low-income group by next year through ‘Apna Ghar Housing Society’.

Under this programme, the government had planned to set up 1,000 residential colonies with 500 units each across the country, benefitting at least 50 million people.



Besides, according to official documents seen by The Express Tribune, the plan to purchase land from provinces for building these houses also hit snags because constant queries and objections were being raised and no significant development had been achieved.

Finances

The housing ministry for the 2016-17 budget sought Rs350 million for the scheme, including Rs35 million for the project’s secretariat in Islamabad which is yet to be established.

For the new fiscal year 2017-18, the government has not announced a single penny for the scheme in development budget. The PM, during the last two years, has struck down requests for financial support for the initiation of the project.

Similarly, the project is yet to get a permanent secretariat including its chief executive and related staff to run the programme. A summary for these appointments remains pending with the prime minister. The acting charge is currently being held by a joint secretary of the ministry.