Islamabad - The National Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Works has directed the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) to immediately initiate legal action against the illegal constructions and nonconforming use of residential property in sectors G-13 and G-14.

The committee also directed to submit progress on action against illegal encroachments and constructions on monthly basis to the committee.

The Standing Committee met under the chairmanship of MNA Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari in Parliament House yesterday. The committee while discussing the implementation status/progress on the recommendations of the committee regarding encroachments in the sectors under ministry of Housing and Works and Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF), especially sectors G-13 and G-14, observed that the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation should strengthen its enforcement mechanism and initiate timely action against illegal encroachments and constructions; otherwise delayed action could encourage proliferation of such illegal activities.

The director general FGEHF apprised the committee that FIR has been lodged against Khateeb (cleric) of a mosque constructed illegally in green belt along with Kashmir Highway in Sector G-13/1 and notices have been issued to the commercial users of residential property, besides action has been initiated against illegally constructed kiosks, hotels and other encroachments. He further informed that enforcement directorate has been established in the housing foundation to check illegal constructions, encroachments and nonconforming use of property in various sectors of the foundation.

Apprising the committee of the progress on Bhara Kahu housing scheme, the director general FGEHS informed that land acquisition process was discontinued after the ban on land acquisition by the ministry of interior; however, to facilitate the members of the Bhara Kahu scheme, ministry of housing and works had invited expression of interest and called tenders for provision of land adjacent to the land already in possession of FGEHF and the update in that regard will be submitted to the committee when finalised.

The committee while discussing the implementation status on the recommendations of its subcommittee on projects of Pakistan Housing Foundation in Balochistan, directed to take government of Balochistan on board and move a summary to the government for arranging the funds to re-initiate work on housing projects for low-income groups.  The meeting was attended by Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani, Rana Zahid Hussain Khan, Nighat Parveen Mir, Sajid Nawaz Khan, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Maulana Ameer Zaman, Secretary Housing & Works and other senior officers of the concerned departments.