June 11, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1428

ISLAMABAD, June 10: Relief measures announced in the national budget for the poor showed that the government was in a ‘giving mood’ in an election year but can something already given away be regiven?

At least the promise that junior finance minister Omar Ayub Khan made in his budget speech to provide 5,500 residential plots and 8,500 apartments to low-income people in Sector I-15 of Islamabad will not be fulfilled — because real estate is long gone.

All the plots and apartments to be developed in the sector were allotted through balloting last year. It is a different matter that the firm Al Khan, owned by the brother of a federal minister, which was awarded a Rs1.5 billion contract to develop the sector failed to do so.

However, Mr Ayub presented it as a fresh scheme in his budget speech, saying Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to develop plots of three marlas to five marlas to help resolve the problem of accommodation of the underprivileged in the capital city.

The minister said residential accommodation was a major problem for employees in Islamabad, therefore, the government has decided to solve this problem.

Prime Minister Aziz has directed the ministry of housing and works to immediately construct 37,000 houses for the low-paid employees and give it to them on ownership-basis, Mr Ayub said.

“In phase-I, work on the construction of 5,000 units will immediately start for which land will be provided by the CDA at official rate and the government employees will have the facility to get loan for construction of house,” he added.

He said the government would also start housing scheme for the low-paid employee in the country.

The scheme, he said, would be started in collaboration with provincial and district governments and the House Building Finance Corporation would provide loans in this regard.

“Under this scheme an estimated number of 250,000 units would be constructed in the next 5 years,” he said.

FARMER MARKETS: Mr Ayub said the government was setting up farmer markets at the federal, provincial and district levels so that farmers could bring items directly to the market, thereby circumventing hoarders, middlemen and profiteers.

DAILY BAZAAR: The minister said daily bazaars would also be set up besides farmer markets and the first daily bazaar would be set up in Islamabad.

In addition, the first wholesale bazaar is being immediately set up in the federal capital.