President Dr Arif Alvi has said developing slums on modern lines is need of the hour.

Chairing a follow-up meeting on transformation of slums into developed areas at President House on Wednesday, he said the poor had been ignored in the past and it was essential to initiate measures to raise their living standards.

The meeting was attended by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Firdous Shamim Naqvi member of Sindh Assembly, Chairman of Naya Pakistan Housing Authority (NPHA), Lt-Gen (r) Anwar Hyder, Secretary to the President Tariq Najeeb Najmi, Secretary Housing & Works Dr Imran Zeb Khan, Deputy Chairman of NPHA Major General Amir Aslam, Additional Attorney General Ch. Aamir Rehman, Aqeel Karim Dhedhi and ex-Chairman Association of Builders & Developers of Pakistan, Hassan Bakhshi, while Najeeb Haroon, a member of the National Assembly and Chairman Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited Samar Ali Khan participated in the meeting through a video conference from Karachi.

The meeting reviewed various proposals to transform these settlements into living areas. Different options to constructively utilize the government land in Karachi also came under discussion.

The meeting constituted a sub-committee, under the Chairmanship of Governor Sindh Imran Ismail with the mandate to find some workable solution into the federal government land and quarters illegally occupied by the people.

The meeting also constituted another sub-committee, to be headed by secretary ministry of Housing, to devise a conceptual architectural plan for the development of government land and flats occupied by illegal occupants, and submit the report within six weeks.

It laid stress on studying regional best practices with regard to transformation of these areas into developed areas and apply the same model in Pakistan for their uplift. It was agreed to take all stakeholders on board before initiating the development plan for slum areas, the federal government land and quarters in Karachi.