- Allottees struggling pillar to post to get work done on construction site
ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be a negligence of the Housing Ministry bosses, the low-paid government employees awaiting construction of their allotted apartments in G-10/2, which remained undeveloped so far.
The project of constructing economical apartments for the middle-class sector in G-10/2 was started in 2008 which was to be completed in 2010. But 10 years on, the allottees are struggling pillar to post to get work done on the construction site, as this matter was also being discussed in the Senate committees since five years, but to no avail.
The allottees say that there is no authority who can take the bull by its horns. Muhammad Ali, an allottee, said that the ministry seems non-serious in completing this project in their term. “It’s a 10-year-old project. The government should take notice of it and address the hurdles in completion of this project. They (PHA) are demanding more money now, which is difficult to pay by the middle-class people,” he said.
Housing Minister Akram Durrani has time and again announced dates for the completion of this project in the Senate committees, but all proves hollow. Initially, it costs Rs 800,000 per allottee but since the development project is in doldrums, the cost of the project is increasing day-by-day. Now, the Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) is demanding more money from the allottees in order to meet the expenses of construction.
According to the written reply from the ministry to the Senate committee, two firms were awarded the construction of the apartments – ACE (Pvt) Ltd as a consultant and the Techno International as the contractor. According to the minister, there are multiple reasons for the delay of this project. The reasons include the laziness of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) which took time to clear the site (G-10/2) which was covered with forest.
The civic authority also had to rearrange underground pipelines for utility services. The minister once explained that difficult site conditions, such as hard rock spread across the lengths and breadths of the land and as deep as 50 feet in some locations hampered construction. When contacted, PHA spokesperson said that the construction was delayed earlier. Now it is in a row and it would be completed in a couple of months.
