New ghost towns

LAHORE: Naya Pakistan Housing Program was launched with the sole objective of providing low-cost lodging to the poor, no matter where it is at and without any plan to ensure a habitat having basic civic amenities.

The government is trying its best to construct low-cost homes closer to commercial and industrial centres. However the state mostly does not have land near these centres. Most of the new houses are being built in areas far away from the civic centers. The allotments are through ballot. A lucky person earning bread for his/her family 20-30 km away from that location may find his name in the lucky draw.

The homeowner may put up with long commuting to reach his place of work but what about his other family members? What would they do if the place where these houses are built lacks basic amenities like schools, colleges, markets and recreation centres? Has the government planned adequate public transport facilities from those locations?

People do want shelter but not in isolation. A house is an objective while habitat is a joint of overlapping networks. This includes networks of power, water, sanitation, road infrastructure, availability of urban transport, labour markets, and entertainment, retail and wholesale outlets. The habitat also provides facilities like education, health and security. This is the reason that poor prefer to live in slums near city centres where these facilities are available.

Planners must measure the deficit of habitat instead of houses otherwise the new housing schemes undertaken by governments and some private sector builders all over Pakistan would continue to become ghost towns with the passage of time.

A look at the real estate prices in this country would reveal that they are much higher in livable habitats than in unplanned housing complexes built either by the government or private sector.

The Defense Housing Authorities (DHAs) in Pakistan not only sell bigger plots, but they also 125 square-yard plots as well. Why is it that the prices of these small plots or houses built in those societies are three to four times higher than those offered by the government and other builders? The only difference is that DHAs are ideal habitats.

General tendency of both the public and private sector is to contain cost. In order to build a large number of units, housing ministries design projects to meet minimum specifications to contain cost. The private builders look for the cheapest land, which is not well connected to the networks.

These housing colonies are so far off that commuting to daily jobs becomes a major problem because of both time consumed and the cost. The residents then try to find lower-paid jobs near home or start their small informal businesses. This impacts the overall productivity of the nation.

Whenever the property prices rise in the habitas like DHA, Bahria Towns registers the highest rise. The reason is simple: all these housing schemes provide all the basic amenities of life to the residents. They have schools, clinics, hospitals, markets, social clubs and a first rate security system for the residents. Bahria Town in Karachi is miles outside the main city but the builder has provided all facilities like shopping malls having all famous brands, the food courts having all well-known eating brands, clinics, hospitals and bank branches. Schools, colleges, playgrounds and parks ensure the residents do not have to go outside the habitat for their living needs.

Prudent private sector planners have taken the clue from the successful projects and are now ensuring they build a habitat instead of a meaningless housing complex and are providing all facilities needed by residents within the habitat.

The real estate owners are adding more services to attract the buyers. Some builders have also added state-of-the-art golf courses. But that is for the elite class to attract high-end consumers that face no housing deficit.

The actual housing deficit is in the middle class and lower middle class segments of society. The prospect of owning a house on easy installments spread over 15 years is attractive. But mere houses would not solve their problem. A present they are living in rented houses in well managed localities having adequate amenities.

The option of becoming a homeowner by paying installments equivalent to their monthly rent is heartwarming but the prospects of living in isolation dampens their spirit. They have to consider the absence of amenities that would be faced by their families in new housing colonies.