PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation (PHAF) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Housing Authority (KPPHA) to file a detailed response to a petition against a delay in land acquisition for and start of development work on a government housing scheme in Suerzai area here.

The two housing bodies were asked by a bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Syed M Attique Shah to inform it about the project survey, land acquisition and the grant of plot and house possession to allottees.

The directions were issued during the hearing into a petition jointly field by over 100 plot allottees, who requested the court to declare that the respondents, including PHAF and KPPHA, had cheated the public at large by receiving millions of rupees from petitioners for the housing project PHA Residentia but not getting land possession and delaying development work.

The petitioners sought the court’s orders for the respondents to hand over plots or houses to the petitioners without further delay.

They also requested the court to ask respondents to intimate them about progress on the project saying no progress had been seen on the project site during the last three years though they’d made down payments and paid installments.

The respondents in the petition are the federal housing and works secretary, KP government through the housing secretary, PHAF chief executive officer and director (land and estate), and KPPHA director-general.

Advocate Rahat Ali appeared for the petitioners whereas the PHAF and KPPHA were represented by Imran Khan Matta and Sabauddin Khattak, respectively.

Mr Ali stated that the project, PHA Residencia Peshawar, was initiated in 2019 with the promise to give possession of the grey structure of houses to petitioners and other allottees, who mostly belonged to low-income groups, within three years.

He, however, said the failure to acquire land showed the disinterest of the respondents in the project.

The lawyer said the PHAF, an implementing arm of the ministry of housing and works, had been tasked with shouldering responsibility in line with the vision of the then prime minister, Imran Khan, of constructing five million houses for low-income groups.

He said the PHA Residencia Peshawar would consist of grey-structure and finished apartments.

Mr Ali said the project was undertaken as a joint venture by the PHAF and KPPHA, which signed a memorandum of understanding on Dec 11, 2019, and decided to launch the scheme in the Surizai area of Peshawar.

He contended that the scheme was launched with much fanfare amid the promise about the provision of low-cost houses to the allottees.

The lawyer said special quotas were reserved for government employees and private people along with different categories. He said draws were held for the project declaring his clients and many others successful and there followed down payments required for different categories.

However, Mr Ali said the project hadn’t been executed for the last three years.

The respondents’ lawyers said the relevant survey had already been completed and the government would also get possession of the required land in near future.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2023