- Appointment of CEO, Secretary, Selection Board, seed money pending with PM Secretariat
- PM had announced in 2013 to construct 500,000 housing units each year under scheme
Three years passed, the provision of low-cost housing scheme announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for construction of five million housing units each year remains a distant dream as the release of Rs500 million seed money for purchase of land is still awaited.
Documents available with Pakistan Today claimed that the housing scheme for poor and low-income groups under “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Apna Ghar Scheme” is not on the priority list of the prime minister himself.
The government has not set aside the targets for the scheme while the appointment of the chief executive officer (CEO) and secretary of the Company Apna Ghar Limited are also pending for want of selection board which is still pending in PM Secretariat.
Sources in the ministry claim that the low-cost income groups were not a priority for the ruling party and hence the prime minister had no time to allocate financial resources for the project. The sources also claimed that finance minister was also reluctant to release requisite funds for the project.
The prime minister, in various public meetings, had announced the launching of Apna Ghar Scheme meant to provide housing facilities for low-income groups in November 2013, despite the fact that the housing subject has been devolved to provinces following the 18th Amendment.
“The scheme has not yet started; however, initial work has already been completed. Apna Ghar Limited Company has been registered with Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Appointment of regular CEO and company secretary is under process. A total five million Housing Units will be constructed under the scheme,” the document read.
The federal government had announced Apna Ghar Housing Scheme, and National Housing Authority was tasked to actively pursue the land identification and confirmation issues with the provinces.
Minister Housing Usman Ibrahim in November 2013 had announced that the government plans to launch a cheap housing scheme by constructing 500,000 housing units a year across the country to provide low-priced housing to citizens.
The minister had also announced that the ministry has acquired land measuring 16 acres in sector I-16 in Islamabad, and that public limited company Apna Ghar has been established to construct the housing units.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had been appointed chairman of the steering committee of the scheme, said the minister, adding that the prime minister would inaugurate the housing schemes in all the four provinces of the country during the first week of December 2013. Since then the scheme has been put on the backburner for unknown reasons.
