Government to attract investment in housing sector: Sindh governor

Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan on Tuesday said resentment of people with regard to problems related to housing sector were genuine.
"Among many factors responsible for stalemate in this sector, one factor was the issue of freezed lands," he said while speaking at an Iftar-dinner hosted by the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) at a local hotel.
Federal Minister Babar Ghauri, Provincial Minister Adil Siddiqi, Advisor to Chief Minister Waseem Akhtar, Home Secretary Brigadier Mohtaram (Retd), Chief Controller of Buildings Brigadier A S Nasir (Retd) were also present on the occasion besides a large number of prominent builders and developers.
The governor referred to growing requirement of housing units in the province and said the government was providing incentives to attract investment in that sector.
The government, he said, appreciated and acknowledged housing was not one industry. In a real sense some 40-42 other downstream industries were also associated with that sector which generated vast revenue and employment.
He recalled when the President of Pakistan came to Karachi on a visit, he too called for immediate resolution of such problems.
Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad pointed out a number of meetings were held to sort out those issues and a meeting was also held with the ABAD and priorities were set for expeditious solutions. However, the stalemate continued to persist because of complications involved.
He said on Monday he again held a meeting on those issues to solve them at the earliest, and it was also the desire of the government to see them resolved on emergent basis and the same was also emphasised by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebad nullified an impression that the issue of defreezing the plots would continue to suffer from stalemate. In fact in Monday's meeting steps were considered for rectification of the situation, the governor clarified and said a meeting would also be held with the ABAD in that regard and the areas where the problems were being faced could be addressed.
"We want co-operation of ABAD for revenue generation and activity in this sector," the governor told the builders.
He told that a legal hitch in that matter was resolved through the City Government and the relevant section, which was earlier deleted, was restored which greatly helped resolve the case in which minor violations were committed.
He pointed out that there were bigger complications in cases where major violations were committed. He said the Government had to see that no injustice was done to anyone and in cases where third parties had become involved, no loss was caused to anyone.