April 29, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 22, 1429

KARACHI, April 28: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has directed the housing and town planning department to prepare a low-cost housing scheme.

He issued the directive while presiding over a high-level meeting at the CM’s House on Monday. The meeting discussed various issues, including the implementation of a PPP programme under which residential units would be provided to the poor and shelterless people in urban and rural areas of the province.

Mr Shah, who was earlier given a briefing on katchi abadis and demand for housing schemes, told the officials to work out a plan for the setting up a “Sindh Housing Authority” to meet the challenge.

Referring to various studies calling for the availability of 58,000 residential units per annum in the province, he ordered that the pace of work on the schemes for the construction of small residential units be accelerated so that the backlog of 150,000 houses could be met and the units could be handed over to the deserving people at the earliest.

The chief minister said that along with the schemes for urban areas, a comprehensive strategy be devised to resolve the same problem in rural areas.

He recalled that it was the commitment of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to ensure “roti, kapra aur makan” for every citizen and the PPP would strive hard to fulfil the commitment by providing shelter to the shelterless and all basic facilities to people, especially those living in katchi abadis.

Mr Shah asked the officials to work out plans on private-public partnership and also involve NGOs to meet the challenge of low-cost housing.

He also stressed that maintaining law and order was the government’s foremost responsibility, and said that magistrates should ensure implementation of government policies and orders under the supervision of DCOs.

The chief minister asked Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman to summon a meeting within the week to chalk out a plan in this regard.

Additional Chief Secretary Nazar Hussain Mehar and secretaries of finance and housing & town planning were among the officials present at the meeting.

Price Control

Presiding over another meeting held to discuss measures for controlling prices of essential commodities and check profiteers, the chief minister asked the administration and law enforcement agencies not to hesitate in taking strict action against those found indulged in hoarding and profiteering.

He observed that due to some ambiguities in the devolution plan and the Local Government Ordinance, confusion prevailed among officials about their authority and exercising powers. However, he added, as far as the maintenance of law and order was concerned, it was the responsibility of the provincial government.

He ordered provision of police cover to the district government officials and magistrates for conducting raids to check profiteering and hoarding of commodities, including wheat flour and rice.