Sites listed for low-cost houses in Punjab

LAHORE:Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired a video-link meeting about the construction of low-cost houses for the underprivileged strata. SACM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, chief secretary, chairman P&D and secretary housing attended the meeting. The BOP president also attended the meeting through video-link.

Addressing the meeting, the CM said 133 sites have been identified for the prime minister's affordable housing scheme; 54 locations have been chosen for the first phase and work will be started on a priority basis at 32 sites, he added. PM Imran Khan will launch this project, simultaneously, at 10 sites in Raiwind. The Punjab government has provided Rs3 billion for the development work and the house size has been increased from 3 marlas to 3.5 marlas, he spoke. The CM said a house will be given at Rs14.30 lakh while the applicant would contribute Rs143,000 and the rest of the amount would be given by Punjab Bank. The monthly installment will be around Rs10,000 and houses will be handed over to successful applicants in one year, he added. The CM said work was in progress on this project in Sargodha while the scheme is being started in 10 tehsils, including Chiniot, Lahore, DG Khan, Khushab, Mianwali, Sargodha and Khanewal.

The provision of the roof to low-income families was a commitment of the PTI and those who could not afford a house of their own because of meagre resources will soon be the owner of their houses. The construction of affordable houses for the poverty-stricken genera is the flagship programme of the government, he concluded. The secretary housing department briefed about the salient features of the project.

MPs: Two Punjab ministers and other parliamentarians called on Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Monday and discussed matters of mutual interest.

Those who called on the chief minister included Punjab Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Ijaz Alam Augustine, Energy Minister Muhammad Akhtar Malik, Sardar Muhammad Khan Leghari, MNA, and MPAs Mahindar Pal Singh, Saleem Akhtar and Ghulam Ali Asghar, MNA Rahat Amanullah, PML-N MPA Mian Jalil Ahmad Sharqpuri and MPA from PP-269 Azhar Abbas Chandia.

The chief minister reiterated his resolve to continue consultations with the parliamentarians for timely solution to people-related problems and promised to give importance to their proposals, adding that feasible suggestions would be implemented. A mechanism had been devised to monitor development projects at every level to get positive results, he added.

“I am personally monitoring different development projects by conducting regular field visits and a vigilant eye is kept on every development scheme,” he said. Usman Buzdar said that no one would be allowed to misappropriate funds.

The chief minister announced provision of facilities to people at their doorsteps by upgrading healthcare and educational facilities. Regrettably, money was wasted on exhibitory projects in the past while neglecting the actual demands and priorities of people, he said. The PTI government has ended that wrong tradition and the negative tactics of influencing people through political jugglery were also done away with.