‘New buildings to be specially-abled friendly’

Senate passes Federal Government Employees Housing Authority Bill

ISLAMABAD: To facilitate specially-abled people, at least in the capital, approval of plans of all new buildings to be constructed in the city have been tied to the inclusion of facilities such as ramps for the special-abled.

This was disclosed by the Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Swati while speaking on the floor of the Senate on Friday.

During question hour, Swati said that the federal government will ensure the provision of facilities for specially-abled people in buildings which will be constructed as per the new master plan of the federal capital.

He added that a survey had shown that of the 70 government buildings in the city, 37 have facilities which allow easy access for specially-abled people.

Most of these government buildings, he said, were located in the Mauve Areas and the administrative block in Sector G-5. They included offices of the National Database Authority (NADRA), National Bank of Pakistan, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC), Radio Pakistan, the Foreign Office, National Engineering Services (NESPAK), Pakistan Post Office, Overseas Pakistanis Foundation, Controller General of Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Ombudsperson, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration office and other public-dealing offices.

The minister said that they have written to the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Services director-general to ensure the provision of facilities for specially-abled people in all the government buildings.

He added that a public notice will also be published in the media ensure the provision of facilities for specially-abled people in all existing public and private sector buildings.

Swati briefed that the Burma Bridge on Lehtrar Road had been damaged due to flooding a few years ago. To repair it, tenders were opened in July 2019 and a letter of acceptance has been issued to the selected contractor. Moreover, construction work on the bridge has commenced.

Security situation

Replying to another question, he said that the overall law and order situation in the federal capital remained peaceful. To ensure a quick response, he said that a Counter-Terrorism Force has already been established to protect the public from criminals.

Swati said that key security points continued to be managed and guarded by the ICT Police.

He added the police forces of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were actively sharing information on important matters between them and with other law enforcement agencies to prevent crime and maintain law and order situation in the federal capital.

Senate passes FGEHA Bill

The Senate on Friday passed The Federal Government Employees Housing Authority Bill 2019, after its approval from the relevant standing committee.

Minister for Housing and Works Chaudhary Tariq Bashir Cheema moved the bill for the establishment of the authority in the House.

The now-defunct Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) was a public limited company registered with Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan operating under auspices of the Housing Ministry.

FGEHF was mandated to arrange affordable residential accommodation to the employees of the federal government and other specified groups based on no-profit and no-loss. Its jurisdiction extends to the whole of Pakistan.

The foundation, however, was not a regulatory body and it had to go through the lengthy process of seeking permissions and NOCs from different authorities for launching its projects.

The maintenance of existing schemes was not possible until the foundation was not given the status of an authority.

The FGEHA, thus, will have the power to acquire land, develop it and carry out the planning of the scheme itself instead of relying on other government organisations.

The authority will also build projects under Prime Minister's Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP) in Islamabad and other parts of the country smoothly on its own.

It had first been converted into an authority after an ordinance was passed last year. The bill, however, will formalise the law.

Cutting paper mulberry trees

The interior ministry informed the Senate in a written reply that more than 20,000 paper mulberry trees, causing allergies to the residents, have been identified in Islamabad.

Pollen from these trees causes life-threatening allergies to people with breathing problems, particularly those suffering from asthma.

The ministry said these trees are mainly located in government education institutions, alongside the nullahs and green belts, Shakarparian, Sector F-9 Park and in the foothills of the Margallah Hills National Park (MHNP).

A three-year plan has now been devised for the gradual removal of these trees. The process was supposed to commence at educational institutions during 2018-19, continue in residential areas during 2019-20 and along nullahs and parks during 2020-21.

However, before the plan was executed, some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) approached the Supreme Court and obtained a stay against cutting of trees on Embassy Road after which the top court placed a bar on the cutting of all type of trees in the city. Hence, the process of chopping down paper mulberry trees was also stopped.

It is now planned that a proposal for cutting these trees will be submitted to Pakistan Environmental Protection Authority (Pak-EPA) and the Ministry of Climate Change to seek their approval.

(With additional input by agencies)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2020.