Overcoming housing shortfall

The Capital Development Authority has started work on a project which will see the construction of high-rise buildings in Islamabad and will ultimately replace slums. The federal cabinet has also granted the go-ahead to the construction of high-rise buildings in the capital city in areas identified by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This follows Prime Minister Imran Khan’s instructions to Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Amir Ali Ahmed to prepare a plan for the betterment and transformation of katchi abadis. The CDA plans to build high-rise buildings in order to replace the slums and accommodate slum dwellers in these buildings. This, instead of depriving the poor of the roof they have over their heads, will offer a housing solution for the underprivileged.

The plan will benefit both the general residents of the federal capital and the underprivileged who live there. The CDA and the CAA have finally sat down and marked out the areas where high-rise buildings can be built in the city. This will have an impact on future planning for a city which has seen its population more than double over the past 20 years. Vertical expansion is a commendable idea to meet the growing housing needs in the capital city. It has 10 officially-recognised slum areas and four times as many unofficial ones. The government should ensure the provision of basis amenities to the residents of the high-rise buildings. The shifting of slum dwellers to high-rise buildings will be meaningless in the absence of basic facilities. However, from slums to clean apartments it will be a healthy change in the lives of the under-privileged.

We hope that the plan will be executed without bureaucratic delays. And if successful, it should be replicated in other cities and towns across the country. It is a practical way to overcome the housing shortfall in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2019.

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