No housing schemes sans basic amenities be handed over to people: Khattak

KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has strictly directed the authorities of Housing, Local Government, Rural Development, Communication and Works Departments to avoid handing over residential schemes to the people without ensuring basic amenities including schools, hospitals, markets and mosques.
He issued these directives while chairing meeting on Aboha Housing Scheme in Barikot Swat at Chief Minister House Peshawar. The meeting was attended by Advisor to CM on Housing Dr Amjad Ali, MPA from Swat Azizullah Gran, Additional Chief Secretary Shahzad Bangash, Secretary Housing Syed Waqar ul Hasan, SMBR Zafar Iqbal, DG Housing and other authorities of housing department.
These instructions in letter and spirit and should be the principle guidelines of the government from now onwards. "The present PTI government believes in providing maximum relief to the masses including solving their residential problems rather than hoodwinking them with mere lip service," he added. He expressed the confidence that housing schemes initiated in our tenure would not only be completed but would have all required facilities.
The meeting was told that this housing scheme was launched some seven years back by the then provincial government which spread over area of three thousands kanals. However, due to inclusion of non concerned and disputed lands as well as exaggeration in fixing the estimates of the developmental charges this scheme could not be put on ground. It was further revealed that Rs 8 million per kanal was fixed in the housing scheme that time which has recently been estimated to Rs 2 million per kanal including the developmental charges in light of the fresh directives of the Chief Minister.
The meeting after threadbare discussion over all the issues decided to conduct fresh survey of the scheme on realistic grounds over an area of 1500 to 2000 kanals. The Chief Minister directed to complete this survey on emergency grounds within the shortest period of one month. He regretted that the previous government started the housing scheme of Aboha but put it in the cold storage after achieving their political and personal gains instead of developing it and providing basic facilities into it. He said that this is the much vital residential scheme near the thickly populated Barikot town on Swat Highway.
He lamented that residential schemes were started even in the deserts in private sector and converted into successful cities because public attraction was created in such schemes by first providing the basic facilities of health, education, mosques, markets quality roads and streets. Pervez Khattak directed to develop Aboha Housing Scheme in private sector on the pattern of Bahria Town and equip it with all basic facilities before advertising it for public.