Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme: government employees allocated 80pc units, NA panel told

Under the 'Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme,' 80 percent of low-cost housing units have been allocated for government officials from grade-1 to grade-16, said Federal Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema while briefing a National Assembly panel on Wednesday.
These housing units are to be constructed by Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) at Askari-VI, Rawalpindi, and sectors G-13 and G-14 of Islamabad. Cheema told this to the NA Standing Committee on Housing and Works, which met here with Najeeb Haroon in the chair. "The vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan is crystal clear; housing is not a luxury that a few privileged should be entitled to. It is a necessity and every citizen of Pakistan has the right to have a shelter of his own," the minister said while briefing the committee about the steps the federal government has been taking to provide low-cost housing to deserving population.
"Many in our country are questioning: How will it all become possible? How will the low-cost housing reach a common man? Will the government really be able to create 5 million housing units for the poor? Will the dream of a common man to have his own house ever get materialised? The answer is yes. We have the will and capability to do so and we are very much committed to it," said Cheema.
The committee members raised questions about the funding mechanism for Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme amidst serious financial constraints the federal government is faced with. The minister responded that arrangements have been made to ensure that House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) provides financial support to the low-paid employees for payment of their instalments.
The committee stressed upon making financial model viable for the low-paid federal government employees in the housing schemes recently inaugurated in Quetta, Rawalpindi and Islamabad by the PM.
Apart from committee members, senior officers of Ministry of Housing and Works, Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) and Pak-PWD attended the meeting.