CM orders balloting of 1,647 plots in Khairpur, launch of Karachi scheme

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Housing Cell (SBBHC) to conduct a balloting of the plots developed for a low-cost housing scheme in Deh Lukman of the Khairpur district so that homeless people could provide a roof to their children.

He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting of the SBBHC at the CM House on Friday. The meeting was attended by Special Assistant Nawab Wassan, Secretary Finance Najam Shaikh, Chairman SBBHC Baqaullah Unar and other officers.

Briefing the chief minister, Wassan said that the SBBHC had developed 1,647 plots of 100 square yards each, over an area of 81 acres in Deh Lukman of the Khairpur district and they would be given to poor families free of cost as approved by the chief minister.

The infrastructure development work has been completed on 81 acres where 1,647 plots are developed for allotment in accordance with the approved selection criteria. The applications were invited from poor families and around 4,500 applications were submitted in the deputy commissioner’s office, of them 2,083 application have been found fit under the criteria.

The chief minister directed the SBBHC to fix a date for balloting so that shelterless people could construct their houses on their plots.

Karachi scheme

The chief minister was told that the SBBHC had a 50-acre land in Deh Nagan, Karachi, where a low-cost housing scheme could be established. At this, the chief minister directed the SBBHC to invite applications for launching a low-cost housing scheme on a public-private partnership basis.

“We can give half of the land to a private party against which the private party can develop two or three apartments’ towers for the government’s low-cost housing scheme for poor people,” he suggested.

The chief minister directed his special assistant and the chairman to prepare a proposal and start consulting private parties so that this proposal could be materialised.

Shah also decided to launch a 600 low-cost units’ housing scheme in three districts -- 400 in Larkana, 100 in Jamshoro and 100 in Khairpur. The cost of the 600 houses would be Rs269 milion at a rate of Rs448,328 each.

The chief minister directed the finance department to release Rs2.6 million out of the SBBHC fund maintained by the Fund Management House. Special Assistant Wassan told the chief minister that 6,000 low houses under phase-III were approved for Rs1.82 billion at a market rate of 2016. The finance department under the Fund Management had released Rs910 million in three equal instalments for 3,000 houses.

He added that therefore 2,526 houses had been completed in all respect and the remaining 438 houses were at final stage and likely to be completed on September 15, 2019. He said that the SBBHC could not start work on the remaining 3,000 houses due to non-release of funds of Rs1.5 billion.

The chief minister directed the BBHC to revise rates as per new market rates and then submit a proposal so that required funds could be released. These 3,000 low-cost houses under phase-III have been constructed in different districts and they have two-rooms of 10 into 12 feet with 8 into 10 corridor and 4 into 7 feet bathroom. The total size of the house comes to 436.25 square ft. As many as 153 phase-III houses are located in Badin, 215 in Shaheed Benazirabad, 204 in Dadu, 102 in Ghotki, 127 in Hyderabad, 100 in Jacobabad, 263 in Jamshoro, 144 in Kambar, 57 in Karachi, 121 in Mirpurkhas, 19 in Matiari, 186 in Larkana, 162 in Khairpur, 57 in Kashmore and other districts.

Under phase-II, 6,000 solar units were installed on the houses constructed under low-cost housing schemes in different district. The chief minister directed the SBBHC to prepare more schemes so that poor people of the province could be provided houses with solar energy.