Federal government servants colony Quetta: Urban regeneration model proposed

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Housing and Works is said to have approached the federal government to get vacated over 59 acres area from 'unauthorized' occupants aimed at regenerating the land, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

Federal Government Employees Housing Authority has been established through an Act of Parliament, Act No. IV of 2020 on 15-01-2020 and working under the auspices of Ministry of Housing & Works. The mandate of FGEHA is to provide affordable residential facilities to the Federal Government employees and other specified groups, on no-profit no-loss basis. Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation has been established as Company under Section 42 of the Companies Act, 2012, with the same mandate.

The Ministry of Housing and Works is planning to initiate the process of urban regeneration in run down areas of various urban centres in the country, including Islamabad.

The practice of urban regeneration is being carried out to revitalize social, economic and urban structures. The process of urban regeneration is in accordance with the directions of Prime Minister to identify underutilized and unutilized state lands to increase revenue generation.

Accordingly, the Ministry, through Federal Government Employees Housing Authority and PHAF intends to commence an urban regeneration project at Federal Government Servants Colony, Sariab Road, Quetta which comes under the administrative control of Estate office - an attached department of Ministry of Housing and Works which caters for the requirement of residences of Federal Government employees.

The total area of the settlement is 59.50 Acres. Due to improper maintenance and "unauthorized" occupation by various agencies and departments, the residential establishments in the premises are in deplorable condition. However, the matter has been negotiated with Frontier Constabulary (FC), Baluchistan, wherein it has been agreed to get it vacated from "unauthorized" occupants.

The present state of these residential units makes them unfit for human inhabitation. Moreover, the Federal Government employees in Quetta are less in number. Apart from this, Federal Government is also working on a monetization policy for residential accommodation.

In light of current situation, , following urban regeneration model has been proposed for Federal Government Servants Colony, Sariab Road, Quetta: ;(i) Change in land use of Federal Government Servants Colony, Quetta to mixed use development on following terms:( a) the vacant land measuring 26 acres to be used for construction of multi-story apartments;( b) commercial strip to be developed along main road for cross subsidy of the project;( c) The apartments and commercial area will be given on lease for a period to be determined as per law and policy;(d) development of parks and other public uses for the community; and (ii) The land is to be handed over to FGEHA and PHAF for execution of the project.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020