Daily Times

NA body directs housing ministry to engage CDA for urban regeneration project

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Works Wednesday directed the Ministry of Housing and Works to consult with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) before undertaking the urban regeneration project in Islamabad, especially around Kohsar Market in Sector F-6/3 to avoid any inconvenience in future.

The body, which met here with Ibadullah Khan in the chair, was informed that the ministry had moved a summary for the prime minister proposing utilization of Abandoned Properties Organization Houses (APO); especially around Kobsar Market in F-6/3, through public-private partnership (PPP), for urban regeneration and gentrification schemes. The construction of executive apartments and boutique hotels was proposed to promote tourism under joint venture (JV) or lease agreements.

The committed was attended by Minister for Housing and Works Maulana Abdul Wasay, Azhar Qayyum Nahra, Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, Tahira Aurangzeb, Seema Mohiuddin Jumeeli, Syed Agha Rafiullah, Syed Mehmood Shah, Muhammad Abu Bakar, Makhdooms Syed Sami-ul-Hassan Gillani and senior officers of Ministry of Housing and Works, Pak. PWD, PHAF, PEPAC, and Estate Office.

The forum was also informed that an International Housing Expo-2022 was being organized by the ministry from December 8. As regards the issue of additional constructions in federal government-owned residential accommodations and their subletting by the allottees, the Estate Office DG said a coordination committee was constituted by the ministry under the chairmanship of the joint secretary which had been looking into those matters.

The committee inquired how many times the administration of ICT was got engaged by the coordination body for demolishing of such unauthorized constructions. The DG could not give a satisfactory reply, however, the deputy commissioner ICT, in his response, assured the committee of their fullest support to the coordination committee in that regard.

The body directed that the chairman of the coordination committee should get accomplished the long outstanding task of survey concerning illegal constructions and their subletting, take all sorts of actions with the help of ICT administration and submit report on weekly basis to the committee.

Regarding the determination of rates for development schemes of roads and solarization, the PWD DG claimed that their rates were lower than other government departments both in federal capital and provinces. The committee directed to provide a detailed comparison of rates of different federal and provincial departments in respect of development schemes in next meeting.

The committee also directed the DG to provide detailed report containing the names of allottees of all the commercial units with their location and rental changes in the next meeting.

The joint secretary of the ministry informed that following the directions of the committee made during its previous meeting, the matter regarding shifting the administrative control of Pakistan Environmental Planning & Architectural Consultants (PEPAC) from the Ministry of Housing and Works to Ministry of Planning & Development was dully taken up with the Ministry of Planning & Development.

In response, they informed that the minister for planning was desirous to have a briefing on the issue but his engagements refrained him to do so.