FAISALABAD, June 7: Over 25,000 applications have been received for the allotment of plots in the FDA City Housing Scheme. The housing scheme is being developed along the Motorway-3 on 1,218 acres, including 992 acres acquired from villagers near Sargodha Road and Samana village up to Chak 119-JB.

The scheme having 8,361 plots — 2,450 of five marlas, 2,969 10 marlas and 2,942 one kanal — is being publicized through electronic and print media by spending a huge amount with the financial assistance of a foreign bank.

Out of the 8,361 plots, only 4,515 will be allotted to the applicants through ballot, while the rest will be allotted to the villagers whose land has been acquired by the FDA on the condition that they will be provided developed plots.

According to information, the FDA through a foreign bank sold out 60,000 application forms for Rs500 each. In this account, it generated a huge amount of Rs300 million. Some 25,000 people deposited forms with the bank with one-third of the total price of plots, and the FDA collected Rs4.10 billion on account of advance. The price of a plot has been fixed at Rs64,000 per marla. Over 1,500 applications are still in the pipeline.

Since the inception of the FDA in 1978, it has developed 20,000 housing units, including over 8,000 plots developed by the Lyallpur Improvement Trust. The last scheme was Millat Town, way back in 1984, which had 3,500 plots on 350 acres. It also developed a housing colony namely Faisal Town on 400 acres with 4,000 plots in 1996, but failed to complete it. Later, it was handed over to the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency for a further process.

Owing to a lukewarm attitude of the FDA and ignoring its mandatory function to provide housing units according to the requirement of the population, the city is confronted with an acute shortage of houses.

Taking advantage of such a lethargic attitude of the FDA, the private sector developed 219 housing schemes in different parts of the city without the provision of basic civic amenities.