LAHORE: “Ashiyana Housing Project is a wonderful opportunity for the government to serve the most deserving of people and help them materialise their dreams to own a house,” Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Thursday.
He was presiding over a meeting on the Ashiyana Housing Schemes. Minister for Housing Tanveer Aslam Malik, Parliamentary Secretary on Information Rana Muhammad Arshad, Punjab Land Development Company chairman Sheikh Allauddin and MPA Rauf Mughal were also present.
While reviewing the process of allotment and balloting for houses in the Ashiyana schemes in Faisalabad and Sahiwal, Sharif expressed dissatisfaction and constituted a committee to oversee it. He also ordered the cancellation of plots for overseas Pakistanis.
He told media that the balloting process for Ashiyana Housing Scheme which was to be held today was being postponed. He said a committee would be set up to reconsider the process for removing any shortcomings.
The chief minister said the project aimed to provide shelter to people in the low income bracket. Hundreds had been provided houses in Ashiyana Quaid and work on Ashiyana Iqbal will commence soon, he said. The government plans to construct almost 10,000 houses in Ashiyana Iqbal.
The Ashiyana Housing Project began during Sharif’s previous tenure. The government has announced that the Ashiyana schemes would be expanded to other cities in the province.
Sharif said the quota for plots for overseas Pakistanis in the Ashiyana Housing Schemes would be withdrawn. “These houses are meant for people who cannot afford them,” he said. The chief minister said the same policy would be applied for all housing schemes.
He announced that a committee would be set up to review the allotment and balloting process for the plots and houses in Ashiyana Faisalabad and Sahiwal. He directed the committee to submit a report on this as early as possible so that the balloting and allotment could be conducted again.
He said modern residential facilities would be provided in all Ashiyana Housing Schemes. He said this was a remarkable welfare project and they were trying hard to implement it as soon as possible.
Following the success of Ashiyana Quaid, work on Ashiyana Iqbal, near the Allama Iqbal Airport, will begin soon and 10,000 houses will be constructed for people currently residing in rented houses.
The chief minister said the Ashiyana Housing Project was a welfare programme and those working on it should do so with spirit and passion.
He said transparency, merit and quality- the hallmarks of Punjab government- were the basis of Ashiyana Housing Project.
The chief minister also met Danish Ambassador Jesper Moller Sorenson on Thursday. They discussed matters of mutual interest and cooperation. Sorenson said there were vast opportunities for investment by Danish companies in Pakistan. He said he was personally involved in informing Danish companies about the scope of investment in recyclable energy, public health, agriculture and dairy sectors. He said the Danish government believed in a free market and was a strong supporter of granting a GSP Plus status to Pakistan. He said it would result in greater trade with the European Union and create more job opportunities for Pakistanis.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2014.