National Housing Policy 2013 Coming Soon for low-cost houses

[Salman]

Islamabad : National Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Works Wednesday expressed concern over the vacant positions in the Ministry of Housing and Works and its attached autonomous bodies.

Aashyana Housing Project - a Model view of housesNA Housing and Works committee directed the ministry to fill the vacant posts of federal secretary, PHA Foundation managing director and Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) director general without further delay. The meeting was attended by members of the committee, MNAs including Rajab Ali Khan Baloch, Sahibzada Faizul Hassan, Nawabzada Mazhar Ali, Tahira Aurangzeb, Khalida Mansoor, Nigat Parveen Mir, Faqir Sher Muhammad Bilalani, Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan, Tahir Asif and Qahar Khan Wadan.

The committee also directed Pak PWD director general to bring complete details of all the embezzlement cases with their latest statuses along with litigation cases pending in the courts of law. The committee observed that the condition of all the federal lodges in the country, which are being maintained by Pak PWD, is shockingly bad despite the fact that they get their maintenance funds every financial year. The committee asked the minister of state to intervene in the matter personally for their preservation.

The committee also asked the minister to take immediate steps for the release of salaries of the employees of Pak PWD, which have been stopped for the last five months. Earlier, Ministry of Housing and Works joint secretary briefed the committee on the working and performance of the ministry and its attached departments.

He said that under the directive of the prime minister the National Housing Policy 2013 is being prepared by the National Housing Authority (NHA) to provide low-cost houses to the people.

He told the committee that schemes financed through the prime minister’s discretionary funds have been abolished from July 2013, and in pursuance of orders of the Supreme Court, completed schemes are being checked for transparency and fairness with respect to their award and execution.