PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation (PHAF) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Housing Authority (KPPHA) to respond to a petition against a delay in land acquisition for and start of development work on the PHA Residencia Peshawar housing scheme.

A bench consisting of Justice Lal Jan Khattak and Justice Ijaz Anwar issued notices for the purpose after holding a preliminary hearing of the petition filed by 72 of the allottees including Ahmad Khalil and others requesting the court to declare that the respondents, including PHAF and KPPHA, had committed the offence of cheating public at large by receiving millions of rupees from the petitioners for the much-publicised housing project but failing to get the land’s possession and start developmental work on it.

The petitioners sought the court’s orders for the respondents to hand over the land or houses to the petitioners without further delay.

They also requested the court to ask respondents to intimate them about progress on the project saying no progress had been seen on the project site during the last three years though they’d made down payments and paid installments.

Allottees complain land not acquired in last three years

The respondents in the petition are the federal housing and works secretary, KP government through the housing secretary, PHAF chief executive officer and director (land and estate), and KPPHA director-general.

Counsel for the petitioners Rahat Ali Khan Nahaqi said the project, PHA Residencia Peshawar, was initiated in 2019 with the promise to give possession of the grey structure of houses to petitioners and other allottees, who mostly belonged to low-income groups, within three years.

He, however, said the failure to acquire land showed the disinterest of the respondents in the project.

The lawyer said the PHAF, an implementing arm of the ministry of housing and works, had been tasked with shouldering responsibility in line with the vision of the then prime minister, Imran Khan, of constructing five million houses for low-income groups.

He said the PHA Residencia Peshawar would consist of grey-structure and finished apartments.

Mr Nahaqi said the project was undertaken as a joint venture by the PHAF and KPPHA, which signed a memorandum of understanding on Dec 11, 2019, and decided to launch the scheme in Surizai area of Peshawar.

He contended that the scheme was launched with much fanfare amid promise about the provision of low-cost houses to the allottees.

The lawyer said special quotas were reserved for government employees and private people along with different categories.

He said draws were held for the project declaring his clients and many others successful and there followed down payments required for different categories.

Mr Nahaqi, however, said even three years later, the project wasn’t executed.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2022