I WAS over the moon when I came to know some 15 years ago that through balloting I had been able to get a plot of land in Taiser Town’s phase II in Karachi. For a salaried person like me, it was a moment of great joy and relief because I thought I would be able to have my house. However, all my happiness and excitement faded away with time, as there has been no significant development in the said society during all those years.

I fail to understand why the provincial government has shown no interest in developing this important residential scheme despite a serious scarcity of houses in a megacity like Karachi. How long should I wait to build my own house and get rid of the ever-increasing rents?

In Pakistan, when the government announces such schemes, the land cost and development charges are already included in the price of the plot of land, and people buying them have to pay all such charges before taking possession. As such, there is no financial burden on the government. Still, we see development takes years to complete.

The relevant authorities should intervene in the matter and direct all concerned to complete the development work of this long-pending housing scheme, and to hand over the plots to the owners so that they may start building their houses.

Yahqub Lodhi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2022