PM housing scheme: SC petitioned to halt disposal of plot

Former housing secretary alleges joint venture is a sham.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was petitioned on Monday to restrain the ministry of housing and works from disposing of a plot worth more than Rs5 billion at a nominal price and constructing upscale apartments on the site.

Former secretary housing Muhammad Riaz Khan contended in his petition that a plot measuring 3.14 acres situated on Fatima Jinnah Road was in the Public Works Department’s (PWD) possession, which was illegally handed over to the Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA).

The authority had published an advertisement in a newspaper inviting expressions of interest by private companies for the Prime Minister Housing Programme for undertaking a mega project for construction of apartments and commercial units on the plot.

He contended that the ministry had written a letter to the Managing Director PHA to take over the possession of the plot, without the president’s approval, after the advertisement appeared in newspapers.

The petitioner said that the project was meant for low-income employees, therefore a joint venture for constructing commercial buildings and upscale apartments was not covered since PHA has no statutory backing, and was established through a cabinet resolution.

He alleged that Secretary Housing and Works Karmran Lashari was involved in the plot’s disposal. He quoted a precedent in which the apex court had already set aside a joint venture agreement between Capital Development Authority and Multi-professional Cooperative Housing Society in a suo motu case to remove the chances of corruption and financial loss to the exchequer.

It was reported that the housing ministry had illegally transferred the largest commercial plot in Karachi, valued at about Rs5 billion, to the PHA. It was alleged that the authority called expressions of interest in haste to construct apartments and commercial units on the land in question. An advertisement by the PHA appeared in newspapers on August 28, inviting construction companies to build apartments and commercial units on the plot.

In accordance with government rules, the PHA had asked companies to submit their proposals within 15 days, following which, the authority would give the plot to the selected company on equity basis, meaning the contractor would not have to pay cash for the site and would instead become a partner in the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th,  2011.