GUJRAT: The Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) has proposed the allocation of around 1,000 plots in a low-income housing colony at Jhelum for the construction of small houses under the Prime Minister’s Naya Pakistan Housing Programme as the scheme has been lying unutilised for almost one decade.

Located along the main GT Road near Dina town of Jhelum, the housing scheme had been planned and initiated by the provincial housing department back in 1995-96. However, the land acquisition was completed in 2004 and the infrastructure development was launched in 2006-07. The development work of the scheme was completed in 2010 at the cost of around Rs133 million.

The PML-N’s Punjab government had earlier allocated the same scheme for the establishment of Ashiana housing programme in 2011-12, but it received a very poor response by the public because of its location in an area far away from any town and poor planning by the authorities concerned. Though there were some 1,110 plots, including 857 of five marlas, 92 of 10 marlas, 63 of one kanal and 93 seven marla plots in the scheme, only 47 could be auctioned in 2012.

Sources say that the authorities had to shelve the scheme after auction of only a few plots because of the lack of public interest in it.

However, in 2014 the provincial government decided to hand over the scheme to the federal ministry of housing and works for its allocation for Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Programme for the low-income families, but the ministry did not take any practical step to launch it.

Now the provincial housing department has proposed through a summary for approval of the Punjab cabinet to withdraw the earlier decision of transfer of the scheme to the federal government’s housing and works ministry and regain the plots’ possession.

The PHATA plan proposes construction of at least 1,600 houses for the low-income families under the PM’s housing programme using only the 857 five-marla plots of the scheme.

The residents of Jhelum say that the road and other infrastructures constructed for the scheme have been deteriorating because of apathy of the authorities concerned and further delay in its utilisation may cause it more damage.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2019