Owning a home is a common dream in this part of the world, and also one that largely goes unrealised. A large chunk of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line and doesn’t have its own roof over its head. Fortunately, the government is doing everything possible to address this and other similar pressing issues and many low-cost housing schemes such as the Naya Pakistan Housing Program, have been launched to cater to people who can’t afford to own a home.
Similar to how the federal government is launching various affordable housing programs, the provincial governments, too, are working towards providing better, low-cost housing options to the underprivileged in the province. For this purpose, the Chief Minister Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, has announced to launch low-cost housing schemes in Karachi and Khairpur.
A low-cost housing scheme initiative by the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Housing Cell
When the Chief Minister was informed that the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Housing Cell (SBBHC) managed a 50-acre land in Karachi’s Deh Nagan, he ordered the SBBHC to invite applications from private companies to launch a low-cost housing scheme in Karachi based on public-private partnership. The plans are to hand over half of the land to private property builders so they can develop a couple of apartment complexes. The CM himself looking into the matter and has directed his special assistant to prepare a proposal in this regard.
Balloting of the “poorest of the poor housing scheme” in Khairpur
The Chief Minister has also ordered to conduct balloting of plots developed for a low-cost housing scheme in Deh Lukman of Khairpur district so that the homeless and the poorest of the poor people can be sheltered. Under the Benazir Bhutto plot scheme, around 81 acres of land was utilised to develop 1,647 plots of 100 sq yds. The aim of the “poorest of the poor housing scheme” is to provide a home to people who cannot afford it, and that too completely free of cost. Applications from low-income families were invited, and almost 4,500 applications were submitted. Out of them, 2,083 applications fulfilled the criteria laid by the scheme. The Chief Minister of Sindh has now announced balloting of these plots so that people can build their houses on these plots.
600 low-cost houses to be developed in Jamshoro, Larkana, and Khairpur
Sindh’s Chief Minister has also planned to launch more low-cost housing schemes in three districts, namely Jamshoro, Khairpur, and Larkana. Six hundred houses will be developed as part of the plan, out of which 400 houses will be built in Larkana, 100 in Khairpur, and 100 in Jamshoro. The total cost of these houses comes at around PKR 269 million, which means around PKR 448,328 will be spent on the construction of one housing unit.
Murad Ali Shah has also directed the finance department to release around 2.6 million from the SBBHC Fund.
Update on Phase III of 6,000 affordable houses
Under Phase III of this initiative, around 6,000 affordable houses were approved to be built for PKR 1.82 billion. The finance department of SBBHC had released PKR 910 million in three equal installments for 3,000 houses.
So far, 2,526 houses have been completed, and the remaining 438 units are nearing completion by September 15, 2019. The housing units that have constructed feature two bedrooms of 10 x 12 feet having an 8 x 10 feet corridor with a 4 x 7 feet bathroom. The total size of a house is around 436.25 square feet. 153 of these low-cost houses are located in Badin, 215 units are situated in Shaheed Benazirabad, 102 in Ghotki, 204 in Dadu, 100 in Jacobabad, 127 in Hyderabad, 263 in Jamshoro, 114 in Kambar, 186 in Larkana, 162 in Khairpur, 121 in Mirpurkhas, 19 in Matiari, 57 in Kashmore, and 57 in Karachi, among others.
Construction of the remaining 3,000 low-cost houses would begin as soon as further funds of about PKR 1.5 billion are released. Sindh’s Chief Minister has issued a directive to develop a proposal according to the new market rates so that the funds needed could be released. It is expected that these houses will be well equipped with solar systems.
If you are interested in taking part in the most popular low-cost housing scheme, then register online in Naya Pakistan Housing Program. For more updates, stay tuned to the best property blog in Pakistan. If you wish to write to us, then send us your queries at blog@zameen.com
