Govt to launch low cost housing scheme in more Punjab districts

Allotment process for houses project will start in February

LAHORE:  

The Punjab government is all set to invite applications for the ‘Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme’ (NPHS) from Okara, Lodhran and Bahawalnagar districts by next month.

Provincial Minister for Housing Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed told The Express Tribune that the spadework has been completed in three districts. “The government is going to call applications by advertising in the press and the allotment process will start in February,” he said.

Earlier, the government announced to roll out the NPHS by January in Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Jhelum, Bahawalpur, Layyah, Multan, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan and Gujranwala. However, considering the tremendous public interest and a large number of applications, the government has decided to hold the simultaneous launch of the project in all the mentioned districts.

Rasheed highlighted that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has received around 80,000 applications from district Faisalabad alone. The government has halted the allotment process in Faisalabad district for scrutiny of these applications. The government will do allotment after completion of the scrutiny process by March 2019.

The housing minister said there was a huge demand for housing units across Punjab. “The government has held the project to avoid undue criticism as it will call application from those districts only where spadework has been completed,” the minister said. “The Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is committed to fulfill its promise to provide living facilities to the low-income strata of society. However, it will take some time.”

Rasheed highlighted that the government would construct double-storey houses under the NPHS pilot project. The Federal Housing Taskforce and the Punjab government have already completed all arrangement to initiate development works on the NPHS pilot project.

“The government aims to execute the project through a public-private partnership. It will play a role of facilitator and regulator in the project. It will provide land while the private sector will build houses from its own resources,” Rasheed said. “Companies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China have already expressed their interest to invest in the NPHS. A Chinese company has offered the PTI-led government to construct two million houses under the project.”

A senior official told The Express Tribune that representatives of the UAE and Chinese companies and some other investors have also held meetings with Pakistani authorities and deliberations over the project were underway. The government is reviewing all proposals before making any decision. The government will finalise modalities of this investment as the project is going to start by next month. Initially, the houses for low-income members of society would be constructed in Islamabad, Sukkur, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Quetta, Swat and Faisalabad (after completion of scrutiny of applicants).

Prime Minister Imran Khan had unveiled the NPHS project in October. In the first phase, the government decided to start the NPHS in seven districts, including Sukkur, Quetta, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Swat, Islamabad and Faisalabad, with an aim to construct a total of five million houses for the low-income strata of society over the next five years.

Following the announcement by the prime minister, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) issued registration forms for the NPHS on its website. These forms have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. The government has sought cooperation from NADRA for registration and data collection to evaluate the housing needs of the people.

As per the NADRA website, only one person per family (husband, wife and children) is eligible to apply for this scheme. Preference will be given to candidates who do not own any independent residential units in Pakistan. The homes are to be made for the common man who earns between Rs10,000 and 25,000 a month.