LAHORE, Dec 16: The Lahore Development Authority governing body on Monday approved a housing scheme for low-income groups and decided to develop another scheme exclusively for overseas Pakistanis.

The housing scheme for low-income groups will be situated adjacent to the LDA Avenue-1, the scheme for the government employees, on Raiwind Road and will comprise 2,000 three- and five-marla plots.

The body decided to invite applications for allotment of plots in the low-income groups housing schemes in February. It was also decided to create a separate setup for developing the scheme for overseas Pakistanis and receiving applications from them.

The governing body was told that the LDA Avenue-1 had received enormous response from the government employees and over 10,000 brochures of the scheme had already been sold which exceeded the number of plots in the scheme. The bank receiving applications had asked for 5,000 more brochures. The LDA director-general was appointed as an adviser on the scheme.

The governing body constituted a committee comprising the LDA DG, town Nazim and DCO concerned for supervising its development. The district Nazim will head the committee.

The district Nazim told the participants that the chief minister had accepted his request for allowing Ismail Qureshi to retain the charge of LDA director-general for one month after his takeover as the local government secretary.

LDA governing body chairman district Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood presided over the meeting which was attended by LDA DG Ismail Qureshi, town Nazimeen Sardar Adil Omar, Chaudhry Ashraf, Ashiq Dayal, Maj Rafiq Hasrat (retired), DCO Khalid Sultan, Wasa and Tepa managing directors, and representatives of the finance, housing and physical planning, local government, and planning and development departments attended the meeting.