Malir Development Authority (MDA) is planning to construct 10,000 houses under Prime Minister Housing Programme 2008 in Taiser Town to provide the low-income families an affordable residence in Karachi. According to sources, the authority has completed the homework for the project and has submitted it to higher authorities for approval.
They said that MDA was established in 1994 with the main objective to develop Incremental Housing Schemes and facilities with all amenities to the general public. At present, MDA is running different public housing schemes in New Malir Housing Scheme-1, Taiser Town Scheme 45, and Shah Latif Town Scheme 25-A.
Sources said that Taiser Town is the biggest government housing and commercial scheme and the MDA is working rigorously for the development of Taiser Town comprising 21000 acres of land where residential, industrial and commercial plots were planned by town planners and consultants out of which about 60,000 residential plots of 80, 120, 240 and 400 sq yards have already been allotted to the citizens after transparent balloting by NADRA. "70 percent development work has been completed with roads, clean water and sewerage lines almost completed while KESC is currently planning to provide electricity in the scheme," they added.
According to them, MDA has recently launched a promotion campaign for its scheme in Taiser Town for Cottage Industry which is getting good response from the small businesses. "Development works on the project such as roads, sewerage lines and clean water is almost complete and MDA is striving hard to provide the businesses all remaining facilities like telephone, electricity, gas and water."
The target for provision of these facilities is 4-year but MDA is making all out efforts to complete the project within a year so that the businesses can be set-up as soon as possible. MDA has also made a contract for a project 'Affordable Housing (ROW Houses)' in Taiser Town and New Malir Scheme in August 2010 where the contractor was to construct 40,000 houses. Sources said that with 610 acre land of MDA, this project was one of the few biggest residential projects in the country and thousands of families would have had their own affordable homes in the project but unfortunately it had to be cancelled due to non-fulfilment of contractual obligations by the contractor.
While inviting applications from all its employees the authority in 2008 had claimed that almost 80 percent development works like construction of roads, installation of water and sewerage lines and electricity supply to the project area along with Super Highway, have been completed.
Employees of different departments of the provincial and city governments, overseas Pakistanis and widows and orphans of government employees had submitted applications in January 2008i. Grade 1 to 10 employees had to submit application forms for 80-yard plots, Grade 11 to 16 eligible for 120-yard plots. Employees with higher grades had to submit forms for 240 and 400 yards plots.