LARKANA, July 12: A steering committee with Sindh chief minister as its head would study and finalise locations for the launch of low-cost housing schemes in the province, said Minister for Katchiabadis and Spatial Development Engineer M. Rafique on Saturday.

He said at a press conference that the federal government had allocated Rs10 billion for the purpose the district coordination officers had been asked to identify revenue land in their districts.

No land-grabber would be allowed to encroach upon katchiabadis land, he said. The record on katchiabadis would be computerised to plug bogus entries and all the katchiabadis in the province would be regularised, he said.

He asked the occupants to contact the department get their residences regularised after making necessary payments. Of 112 katchiabadis in Larkana 56 had been notified so far and 45 still remained un-notified.

He said under ‘Sasti Basti’ programme the authority was looking for suitable pieces of land in all the districts of the province and added the Larkana DCO had been asked to allot five-acre plot of land for establishing ‘Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Sasti Basti’ in Larkana.

To a question the minister said that the authority was making efforts for stopping frequent demolition of old abadis in Karachi.

He visited the office of the Sindh Katchiabadi Authority.