ISLAMABAD: Prime Min­ister Imran Khan on Monday formed a high-powered National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction and Devel­opment to put the construction industry on a fast track and initiate projects under the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP).

The committee will work on the pattern of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) formed to combat deadly coronavirus in the country.

The committee will help coordinate and facilitate the government’s policy objectives of promoting construction- and development-rela­ted activities, especially affor­d­able housing projects for low-income segments of society, as envisaged in the NPHP.

The committee comprises the chairman of Naya Paki­stan Housing and Develo­pment Authority (NPHDA), secretaries or their representatives (not below grade-21) of the ministries of housing and works, planning and development, finance, power, petr­oleum and law and justice, deputy governor of State Bank, chief secretaries of the provinces and AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan or their representatives (not below BS-20), chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue or his representative (not below grade-21), chairman of the Capital Dev­e­lopment Authority, chief commissioner of Islam­abad Capital Territory and deputy chairman of the NPHDA.

The NPHDA chairman will be convener of the committee. The convener may co-opt any other person from public/private sector, including heads of housing and development authorities, representatives/stakeholders from construction industry, etc, as member, if required.

The secretariat support to the committee will be provided by the NPHDA.

The committee will meet twice a week (every Tuesday and Friday), but the convener may increase the frequency of meetings.

The terms of reference of the committee include (i) to assess the demand and supply situation of housing in general, and affordable housing in particular; (ii) to periodically review the progress of different housing- and construction-related initiatives in provinces/across the country; (iii) to identify hurdles in the way of growth of housing and construction activities with concrete recommendations/directions for their removal to relevant entities; (iv) to coordinate and issue instructions for redressal of grievances related to housing and construction initiatives in the country including but not limited to various permissions, NOCs and provisions of utilities; (v) to make required decisions and issue instructions to relevant ministries/divisions/departments and organisations and monitor progress/implementation; (vi) to monitor and facilitate timely processing and approvals of housing, construction and development projects; and (vii) to act as focal point for inter-province, inter-ministerial, inter-department and inter-agency coordination for all housing-, construction- and development-related policies and initiatives across the country.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2020