Land purchasing for FGHF: National Assembly body warns of cancelling deal if irregularity found

National Assembly standing committee on housing on Monday warned that it would cancel the deal if any irregularity is found in purchasing land for Federal Government Housing Foundation (FGHF). The committee, which met here with Pervez Khan in the chair, said that the committee will strike down the deal in case of any major irregularity.
The committee members will visit the site of FGHF on August 26 to review 3,000 kanal land purchased for FGHF in Bahara Kahu. The committee expressed resentment over presentation of false statistics by secretary housing during the briefing and warned him against misleading the participants of meeting.
Giving briefing secretary housing told the committee that the housing foundation had reached an agreement with Green Tree Company in 2008 in connection with purchase of 3,000 kanal land at Bahara Kahu for poor and low paid government employees. The completion process of the scheme would take two and a half year and no hike in prices of plots would be made. Overall 4,200 plots would be carved out. 19,000 employees have been registered so far, he pointed out.
Minister for housing told total cost of the land had not been paid so far as payment could be stopped if conditions were not fulfilled. Earlier, the committee has unearthed an alleged scam in the Prime Minister's Housing Scheme under which over 3,000 kanals of land has been purchased in Islamabad at an exorbitant price.
The committee found that the housing ministry had purchased 3,000 kanals of land from a private firm called Green Tree in Bara Kahu area (Zone-IV) at a rate of Rs 950,000 per kanal, but the market price of the land was said to be between Rs 400,000 and 500,000 per kanal in the area.
The committee had pointed out that a marked difference in the market value of the land and decided to visit the site in the first week of June to assess the factual position. The land was purchased last year in Zone-IV in Bara Kahu when no housing was allowed in the area, but it was permitted by the federal cabinet recently.
The housing scheme is a joint venture of the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) and Green Tree company. The foundation paid some 65 percent of the cost at the time of purchase. According to the agreement signed between the foundation and the company, the firm had initially offered 1,600 kanals of land on the Simly Dam Road. This was extendable up to 3,000 kanals.
The agreement said: "Being the land provider, Green Tree (PVT) Limited will arrange for transfer of clear, title free from all encumbrances and charges, in favour of Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation within 15 days of the agreement."
The agreement further said the land provider would ensure that the entire 3,000 kanals remained reserved for acquisition by the foundation for extension of its scheme up to a period of four months from the date of execution of the agreement and there will be no alienation or disposal of any kind. Both sides have agreed that per kanal price of the land for the entire piece of 3,000 kanals will be Rs 950,000.