ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday was informed that 32 federalgovernment-owned abandoned properties worth billions of rupees had beenidentified in major cities for their onward auction to generate revenue andspend it on public welfare.
The prime minister was chairing a meeting to discuss progress on theproductive utilization of the federal government’s unused propertieswherein secretary privatization said the properties had been identified inIslamabad, Lahore and Karachi with their estimated value in billions ofrupees.
Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar, Minister for Maritime AffairsSyed Ali Haider Zaidi, Privatization Minister Mohammed Mian Soomro, SpecialAssistants to Prime Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Syed Zulfiqar AliBukhari and Nadeem Afzal Chan, federal secretaries of the ministriesconcerned and other senior officers also attended the meeting, a PrimeMinister Office press release said.
The secretary privatization told the meeting that out of 32 identifiedproperties 27 were available and the process for recovery from illegaloccupation and completion of ownership documents of rest five propertieswas in progress.
The prime minister was told that the investors and overseas Pakistanis hadshown keen interest in the said properties during an expo held in Dubaiduring the current month.
He said after fulfilling all formalities, the schedule for their auctionwould be finalized and a local and international advertisement campaignwould be launched in first week of January.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction on the process and said theutilization of abandoned properties and the utilization of the generatedrevenue for public welfare was vital component of government’s policies.
He said the abandoned properties located on key locations in major citieswould be utilized for construction of low cost houses, schools andhospitals besides spending the revenue generated from their auction forprovision of better amenities.
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The prime minister also instructed the authorities concerned to share theinformation regarding the abandoned properties with Naya Pakistan HousingAuthority so that such land could be utilized for construction of low costhousing units.
He also directed all the ministries to amend their rules to ensure theutilization of the abandoned properties for public welfare and furnishreport to cabinet within a week for early completion of the process.
He also instructed the government to accomplish the recovery of thegovernment land from illegal occupation and complete the documentation oftheir ownership in coordination with the provincial governments.
Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing Authority apprised the prime minister aboutthe progress on the construction of low cost housing units for poor. Theprime minister said the provision of low-cost and well equipped houses tothe low-income group particularly the residents of the slums was amonggovernment’s priorities.
He said the construction of the high rise buildings in slums located indifferent cities would not only resolve the housing problems of the slumdwellers but also enable the government to spend revenue to be generatedfrom the construction of commercial plazas for building low-cost houses forthe poor.
