|
|
|
| April 16, 2007 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1428 |
Housing scheme for low-income families
RAWALPINDI, April 15: The Punjab government has approved a summary prepared by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) for launching a housing project for low-income families on an estimated area of 30,000 acres.
The society would be the first housing project solely aimed at accommodating lower middle class of the twin cities, particularly residents of Rawalpindi.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has approved the summary sent by the RDA which would be the first achievement of the authority since its inception in 1990. It would also execute construction work of the housing project.
RDA Director-General Brig (retired) Pervez Mehmood Khan confirmed to Dawn on Sunday that the chief executive of the province had approved the summary.
He said the RDA was now in the process of acquiring land for the project in order to facilitate the lower middle class at the earliest and give them their right to living in a comfortable environment and bring them on par with people who had developed houses in posh sectors.
According to initial feasibility of the housing scheme, the RDA will give a fully developed plot for every three kanals acquired from landowners.
It is pertinent to be mentioned here that the RDA had proposed a housing scheme in 1994 at Loi Bhir but it could not materialise due to difference of opinion among successive governments.
The RDA chief said the housing project was purely aimed at providing residential facilities to the low income class which, he said, could not afford to own a plot in private housing schemes.
When asked about the location of the project, Mr Khan said: “We are planning to acquire land near I-15, and it is our top priority to build the housing society on the most suitable location.”
About 75 per cent residents in Rawalpindi are living in ‘weak housing structures’ and most of the housing units are as old as 80 to 90 years. This had been pointed out in the master plan for Rawalpindi prepared in 1996.
The proposed housing scheme, if completed, will accommodate approximately 60,000 families on a covered area of 15,000 kanals and will prove fruitful for those people who cannot imagine to buy a house in the area in which the value of property has increased.
|
|
|
|
