KARACHI, Sept 16: The Sindh Governor, Dr Ishratul Ibad, has asked concerned departments to remove all hurdles in bringing investment to the province and in providing residential facilities to the homeless.

The governor issued this directive at a meeting held at the Governor’s House on Friday. It was attended by Principal Secretary Saleem Khan, Law Secretary Ghulam Nabi Shah, Senior Member Revenue Anwar Haider, Member Land Utilization Khalid Mehmood Soomro and Secretary Ishaq Lashari.

The governor was briefed about hurdles in the process of allotment of land to investors and even 80 sq-yd residential plots to homeless families because of rules enforced during 2000 by then Governor Mohammadmian Soomro, which allowed disposal of land only through auction and not through allotment.

In the presence of these rules, many investors, keen to invest in projects, get discouraged and move elsewhere after realizing that they had to purchase land through auction.

Besides, in the absence of by-laws and rules, the land allotment procedure was creating complications for investors.

Governor Ibad directed authorities to remove all hurdles in land allotment to entrepreneurs. He also asked them to propose rules and bylaws within 15 days to make the procedure simple without affecting transparency.

He was informed that there was no ban on allotment of land to investors – for setting up cottage industries or for giving land to homeless people – in other provinces except Sindh.

The governor directed them to make a comparative study of relevant laws enforced in other provinces and recommend necessary amendments to the rules to make them simple without compromising on transparency.

He said all measures of the government should be aimed at bringing improvement in the life of the common man and providing them employment opportunities so that the province could be put on the road to development.

The governor also asked them to consider setting up an urban housing development authority or reviving the KDA and other development authorities to allot residential plots of 80 and 120 sq-yds to homeless people.