Islamabad: The government intends to place Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP) before the parliament for debate, a news source quoted Housing Minister Chauhdry Tariq Bashir Cheema. The purpose is to get their input on the matter.
The minister was briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works. Elaborating on NPHP, he said that electricity connections and other utilities will be provided to the homes from the existing system. The committee was also told that so far 80,000 people have applied for the housing units.
According to a working paper of the housing ministry, incremental housing will also be promoted by facilitating low-income individuals in obtaining small loans and building houses themselves. The senate body was told that under NPHP, mortgage facilities will be provided. People who have been allotted homes will pay for them through monthly instalments spanning 15-20 years.
Banks will be encouraged to invest in the project and funds will also be raised through the issuance of sub-sovereign bonds, municipality housing bonds etc. Foreign companies will also be encouraged to invest in NPHP.
The paper said that some laws will need to be amended as the necessary legal status of available land is to be evaluated, while legislation for avoiding court injunctions must be initiated to ensure the proper acquisition of land for the project.
