PM Imran accuses Sindh govt of not cooperating in housing project

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the Sindh government is not extending any cooperation in connection with building of five million houses, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Talking to newsmen in Islamabad on Thursday, Imran Khan, while expressing his reservations about Bundle Island, their war against the land mafia will continue.

Showering loads of praise on the Ravi Housing project, the prime minister said the Punjab government has recovered Rs200 billion from the Qabza mafia. 

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan, for the first time in the country’s history, allotted 1,008 flats and 500 houses to poor workers and widows on low-cost mortgage in a bid to uplift the weaker segments of the society.

Imran Khan performed the balloting at the site of the affordable residences constructed in the suburbs of Islamabad, under the Naya Pakistan Housing Project carried out by Workers Welfare Fund and Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the project was in line with the vision of facilitating the lower class which faced hardship in owning a house, particularly in urban areas.

“Naya Pakistan is in fact a vision of empowering weaker segments of the society through economic emancipation and provision of basic necessities of life,” Imran Khan maintained.

He spoke on the occasion about giving ownership rights of flats and houses to poor workers and widows.

The Prime Minister said under mortgage system the rent paid would be converted into installments of the total cost of the house or flat. He said the government would give Rs0.3 million subsidy on each house and would also ensure that the mark-up rate did not exceed by five percent.

وزیراعظم عمران خان کابے گھر افراد کو چھت کی فراہمی کا وعدہ پورا۔
نیا پاکستان ہاؤسنگ پروگرام کے تحت غریب اور بے گھر افراد کیلئے گھروں کی فراہمی کے عمل کا آغاز شروع ہوگیا ہے۔#محنت_کش_کا_وزیراعظم pic.twitter.com/gREiuNdpDj

— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) March 18, 2021

He lauded the efforts of the team of Workers Welfare Fund for reviving the project that lingered on for last 25 years and regretted that previous governments never gave priority to the working class.

Imran Khan acknowledged that without the support of banks, the project could not be accomplished. The passage of new foreclosure law for banks took two years to get approval by the courts, he added.

وزیر اعظم عمران خان کمزور طبقے کی ترقی کے لئے کوشاں ہیں۔ اس سلسلے میں سب سے اہم اقدام سستی رہائش کی فراہمی ہے ، جسکا وزیر اعظم نے آج باضابطہ طور پر آغاز کیا ہے۔ پہلے مرحلے میں 1008 فلیٹ اور 500 مکانات الاٹ کیے جائیں گے۔#محنت_کش_کا_وزیراعظم pic.twitter.com/DRfw7dEe4V

— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) March 18, 2021

He said in the first phase, over 1,500 flats and houses would be distributed and the same number would be replicated in second phase as well. The project will be expanded to other parts of the country, he added.

Imran Khan said owning a house was a big dream in one’s life, adding that even rich countries could not give away houses free of cost but on mortgage.

He said the government gave concessions to the construction industry during pandemic that resulted in a boom, including increase in demand of cement.

He said the construction industry would generate massive employment opportunities, expressing hope that the step would lead to wealth creation and strengthening of economy.