ISLAMABAD, July 13: The government has decided to launch new housing schemes across the country to fulfil the requirement of 5.4 million houses, which would accommodate about 30 million people.

Sources said the government had identified five major sectors, which are housing, construction, agriculture, small and medium enterprises and manufacturing, which will provide greater employment opportunities to he people.

It may be mentioned that to promote housing and construction sector in the country, the government had reduced the central excise duty on cement by 25 per cent, taken necessary steps for slashing the interest rate on house building loans to government employees, simplified the rules and regulations for provision or purchase of houses and prepare a plan to simplify the land acquiring procedure and also easing the method of payment to the owners of land, they added.

The sources said the government was reviewing present acquiring policy of land in federal territory for providing plots to employees at low price.

The sources said withholding tax on property income, had been reduced 2.5 per cent on annual rental ceiling of Rs200,000.

However, the annual rental ceiling limit was Rs100, 000 earlier and the withholding tax was 7.5 per cent. “The debt- equity ratio in housing finance has been improved to 80:20 from 70:30 during current facial year” the pre-party limit has been raised to Rs7.5 million from the existing limit of Rs5 million” they added.

They said government had finalized a soft loans programme for the government employees for construction or purchase of houses through House Building Finance Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to auction the goods, which it has confiscated during its campaign against encroachment.

The Authority would earn about Rs1.5 million from the auction, sources said.

The Interior Minister Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, had set June 30, deadline to remove the encroachment from the city.