KARACHI, July 2: The executive board of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Saturday approved the authority’s development budget for the fiscal year 2005-06 besides taking a number of important strategic and administrative decisions of far-reaching results. A special meeting of the DHA executive board chaired by its president and Corps Commander 5 Corps Lt-Gen Syed Athar Ali was held for the purpose at the DHA’s main office.

The Administrator DHA, Brig Maqsood Hussain, highlighted salient features of the budget and informed the broad that a record amount of Rs2.5 billion had been earmarked for development works, which was so far the highest allocation in the DHA’s history.

He said the amount would be spent mainly on upgrading/refurbishment of civic services in the DHA, including improvement of roads, water supply lines, sewerage system, streetlights and other amenities.

He said another significant feature of the budget was the refurbishment/ renovation of decaying infrastructure of old phases, and the amount allocated for development in DHA’s phases VIII and VII Extension.

He said all income generated from the DHA Water Front Developments would be funnelled directly into the rehabilitation programme of old phases.

Corps Commander Lt-Gen Athar Ali directed the DHA that focused approaches be adopted during the planning stage to ensure saving of time and cost during the execution of projects while ensuring highest standards of engineering.

He also asked the authority to cater to the future expansion needs, while undertaking any development work.

Lt-Gen Athar directed the DHA to move on a quick pace to complete the development of DHA’s phases VIII and VII Extension, which constituted an area of almost half of the DHA, so it could be opened for construction at the earliest.

Brig Maqsood informed the meeting that consultancy and master planning of DHA Phase VIII was near completion and development activity there would start soon.

The corps commander also emphasized provision of a clean and healthy environment and improvement of security conditions.

He reiterated that record development activities would be undertaken to bring a qualitative and tangible improvement in the living environment in the DHA.—PPI