April 3, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 30, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, April 2: Capital Development Authority (CDA) will utilize a sum of Rs40 million under the redevelopment plan for Sector G-6 to give final touches to 200 flats constructed for government employees at Aabpara several years ago.

The project engineer of the redevelopment plan, Sanaullah Aman, told Dawn on Wednesday that the flats had not been utilized for the last eight years.

The authority had already spent Rs250 million on the construction of flats, but due to incomplete work the project remained in doldrums.

He rejected the claim of the residents that construction of flats would create problems for them saying the decision on redevelopment of Sector G-6 was approved by the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, sources said the plan, a joint venture of Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) and the CDA, would cost Rs5 billion.

The plan was prepared to provide better accommodation facilities to the government employees as about 4,000 houses occupied by them were in a dilapidated condition.

According to the plan, the existing houses in the sector would be replaced by multi-storied buildings.

The sources said the residents, mostly retired and serving government officials, had been asked to pay the cost of the flats in accordance with the market rate.

The redevelopment plan has been prepared by a joint committee of the PHA and CDA in view of a longstanding demand of the inhabitants, they added.

Government employees had reportedly requested previous governments to redevelop the sector or give ownership rights of the official accommodation so that they could renovate the houses.

The plan has been approved by the Cabinet as thousands of government employees are living in a miserable condition for the last 20 years.

Under the plan, over 5,500 flats would be constructed in place of the existing housing units. The number of flats could be increased to 6,500.

The plan would be implemented in phases and was likely to be completed within a period of five years, the sources said.

“We cannot provide alternate accommodation to all residents of Sector G-6 during redevelopment, therefore the plan will consist of 10 phases so that dwellers can be provided with alternate place in the same area.”

Answering a question, the officials said about 1,500 flats would be constructed by a private firm and the rest of 4,000 flats would be constructed by the government.