LAHORE, Dec 14: With a five-million shortfall in the number of housing units across the country, the housing problem is getting worse, particularly in big cities.

The government has failed to devise a comprehensive and long-term strategy to cope with the problem that has resulted in congestion and overcrowding in big cities, experts told this agency.

According to the 1998 census, the consultant engineers of various organizations pointed out, there were 19.3 million housing units in the country. Among them, 67.7 per cent were located in the rural areas and 32.3 percent in the urban areas.

The fifth housing census reveals that 34.8 percent houses in the country are made of unbaked bricks, 58.2 percent made of baked bricks, concrete blocks or stone while 7.3 percent houses in the rural areas and 1.4 percent in the urban areas are made of bamboo or wood that is covered with thatching.

The engineers said that the housing problem was increasing owing to a lack of interest on the part of authorities concerned. They stated that if immediate steps were not taken, the problem would become more complicated.

A consultant engineer, Muhammad Nisar, was of the view that the government should construct housing schemes in the suburbs of big cities. He stated that without the support of government, the housing problem could not be solved.

Representatives of the Contractors Association Punjab said that the government should provide soft loans to people for construction of houses. The interest rate on loans given by House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) should also be reduced. They also demanded that construction industry should be given incentives to help end the slump in this sector.—PPI