ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that as the mandate of the government is for five years, politicians should be held accountable every five years to see what they have done for the masses.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, the PM said that when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government came into power, opponents commented that the government will be sent packing within a week. He added that at the time, predictions as to when the government would be dissolving were being made every day.
He regretted that the opponents of the government from day one wished that the government failed, as they had some specific agenda.
“The people of Pakistan have given a mandate to our government for five years and at the completion of the term, they can judge whether we delivered or not.”
Prime Minister Imran, for the first time in the country’s history, allotted 1,008 flats and 500 houses to poor workers and widows on a low-cost mortgage in a bid to uplift the weaker segments of the society.
He performed the balloting at the site of the affordable residences constructed in the suburbs of Islamabad, under the Naya Pakistan Housing Project carried out by Workers Welfare Fund and Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.
Speaking on the occasion, the premier said that the project was in line with the vision of facilitating the lower class which faced hardship in owning a house, particularly in urban areas. “Naya Pakistan is in fact a vision of empowering weaker segments of the society through economic emancipation and provision of basic necessities of life,” he maintained.
He spoke about giving ownership rights of flats and houses to poor workers and widows. The premier said that under the mortgage system, the rent paid would be converted into instalments of the total cost of the house or flat.
He said that the government would give Rs0.3 million subsidy on each house and would also ensure that the mark-up rate did not exceed 5 per cent.
He lauded the efforts of the team of Workers Welfare Fund for reviving the project that lingered on for the last 25 years and regretted that the previous governments never gave priority to the working class.
PM Imran acknowledged that without the support of banks, the project could not be accomplished. The passage of new foreclosure law for banks took two years to get approval by the courts, he added.
He said that in the first phase, over 1,500 flats and houses would be distributed and the same number would be replicated in the second phase as well. The project will be expanded to other parts of the country, he added.
The premier said that owning a house was a big dream in one’s life, adding that even rich countries could not give away houses free of cost but on the mortgage. He said that the government gave concessions to the construction industry during a pandemic that resulted in a boom, including an increase in demand for cement.
He further said that the construction industry would generate massive employment opportunities, expressing hope that the step would lead to wealth creation and strengthening of the economy.
Moreover, Prime Minister Imran said that early completion of master plans of 10 major cities was on top of the government’s priority list to check their unplanned expansion and to specify separate areas for farming, accommodation and business activities.
“We are the first government to focus on this issue, and we want the cities to have high -rise zones, so as to stop their spread and ensure that food security is not threatened,” PM Imran said while responding to a question about the loss of agriculture lands due to the mushrooming housing colonies across the country.
He said that early next month, his government will bringing forth a new plan for food security and to address this crucial issue.
“For the first time a government is revising the master plan of all [major] cities and we want the cities to rise upwards, as expanding cities place a huge burden on provision of necessary services like electricity, water and sewerage and sanitation services.”
He cited the example of London, New York, and Dubai, which he said were a living example of high-rise living. The haphazard expansion of cities was endangering the environment and there was a need to preserve the precious agricultural land, he added.
He said that the master plans of the cities were in various phases of completion and hoped the first few will be available by the middle of the year.
PM Imran said that he was looking forward to the accomplishment of all projects, envisioned by his government including the launch of two new megacities besides a Central Business District at Lahore’s old Walton airport.
The things, he said, were moving in the right direction after the completion of the first half of his government’s tenure. He was optimistic that his government would be able to accomplish its target of the construction of five million housing units and pointed that work was also going on for the construction of two major mega water projects besides two new cities – Ravi River, Bundal Island and Central Business District.
The positive impact of this huge economic activity would be evident soon, PM Imran said.
The prime minister, to another question, said that the governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Balochistan were very proactive in the housing sector, however, he noticed a lacklustre approach from the Sindh government, probably due to the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
When asked about the measures taken for securing investment of the overseas Pakistanis, PM Imran said that his government has launched a “jihad” against the land grabbers. He was particularly appreciative of the Punjab government that successfully got vacated precious public and private lands from land grabbers worth over Rs200 billion. He said that special courts have also been established to resolve their cases on fast track basis.
