DHA budget approved

A special meeting of DHA Executive Board, chaired by Corps Commander 5 Corps and President Executive Board DHA Lieutenant General Syed Athar Ali was held at Defence Housing Authority's Main Office, here on Saturday. The Executive Board approved the Development Budget of the Defence Housing Authority for the fiscal year 2005-06 and took a number of important strategic and administrative decisions of far-reaching implications.
Administrator DHA Brigadier Maqsood Hussain highlighted the salient features of the budget and informed the Executive Broad that a record amount of Rs 2.5 billion was earmarked for development works in the current budget, which was so far the highest allocation ever made in DHA's history.
The Administrator further elaborated that the gigantic amount earmarked for development activities would be spent of mainly for upgrading/ refurbishment of civic services in the DHA, including improvement of roads water supply lines, sewerage system, street lights and miscellaneous amenities. He said that another significant feature of the budget was the refurbishment/ renovation of decaying infrastructure of old phases and amount allocated for development in DHA Phase VIII/ Phase VII Extension.
He said that all the income generated from DHA Water Front Developments would be funnelled directly into the programme of rehabilitation of the old phases.
Corps Commander Lieutenant General Athar Ali directed DHA that a focused approach be adopted during the planning stage to ensure saving of time and cost during the execution of projects while ensuring highest standards of engineering excellence. He also asked the Housing Authority to cater the future expansion requirements, while undertaking any development work.
Lieutenant General Athar directed DHA to move on a quick pace in an accelerated timeframe to complete the state-of-the-art development of DHA Phase VIII/ Phase VII Extension, which constituted an area of almost half of the DHA, so that it could be opened for construction at the earliest. The Administrator informed the meeting that consultancy and master planning of DHA Phase VIII was near completion and development activity would start soon in the near future.
The Corps Commander also emphasised on provision of clean and healthy environments, improvement of security conditions and on more proactive role by DHA PR Dept in realistic projection of DHA mega projects in the press/ media.
The Administrator reiterated that the record development activities would be undertaken with a professional acumen to bring a qualitative and tangible improvement in the living environments and infrastructural facilities in the DHA.
Brigadier Maqsood pointed out that maintenance and upkeep of civic amenities was basically the responsibility of Clifton Cantt Board, which gets all the taxes from the residents but paradoxically DHA was putting its chip to provide the best civic amenities and living facilities to its residents.
The Administrator susmming up the budgetary proposals revealed that the budget included amount for consultantcy and improvement of traffic management in DHA, construction of new flyovers and underpasses, construction of a New Degree College for Girls in Phase VII, construction of sewerage treatment plants and improvement/ uplift of DHA Commercial Areas.