From illegal dwelling to making homes

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday announced ownership rights to residents of 326,516 residential units of Katchi Abadis across the rural and urban areas of the province. He further said that 2,208,578 people would get ownership rights of their houses under the new scheme, adding that the scheme would be applicable to all Katchi Abadis established before December 31.
Speaking at a press conference, he said that the alleviating the sufferings of the common man was a top priority of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in Punjab, adding that the purpose of the new scheme was to empower and improve the living standard of citizens of the province.
The scheme, titled Regularisation Scheme of 2012, would provide 35,640 acres of land to people living in Katchi Abadis. The chief minister said that no fee would be taken from widows and orphans during the process of assigning ownership rights. However, a fee of Rs 172 per marla would be charged on other people.
He further said that the residents who had already received their ownership rights but had not paid their required dues had been granted an extended deadline of June 30, 2013.
The chief minister further said that the reorganisation of Directorate General of Katchi Abadis was being carried out so that it could facilitate the process of awarding ownership rights to Katchi Abadi dwellers. He added that to avoid illegal construction in the future, survey and GPS Mapping of Katchi Abadis would be carried out and further establishment of more Katchi Abadis would be discouraged.
The chief minister said that the committees set up under Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Member of National Assembly Khawaja Saad Rafique had worked tirelessly to ensure the successful completion of the Katachi Abadis project.
Moreover, Shahbaz outlined the development efforts of the Punjab government and said that completion of projects like Ashiyana Scheme, Jinnah Abadis, Labour Colonies and Model Villages showed the provincial government’s dedication to public welfare. He further said that the purpose of green tractors and yellow cab schemes was to enable common men to stand on their own feet. He said the Ashiyana Housing Scheme had been launched in five other districts of the province. He said these schemes had been given legal cover and no government in the future would be able to end these projects.
He expressed the hope that the families being given ownership rights in Katchi Abadis would pay attention to the education and training of their children, and would be able to resolve their problems without worrying about their homes.