ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has directed all government departments to extend assistance to the public representatives and resolve the issues of people.He also directed the ministries, which are carrying out different development projects to increase their level of coordination to ensure timely completion of projects.The Prime Minister made these observations while talking to parliamentarians who called on him at the PM’s House Friday afternoon.The Prime Minister said that the allocation for Public Sector Development Fund (PSDP) has doubled over the last four years. Yet, the government wanted to increase the scope and size of development projects, but was unable to do so due to increasing demand in the face of budgetary constraints, he added. The government, he said, has therefore embarked on rationalisation and prioritisation of development projects for maximum impact and best value of money.The Prime Minister directed the Parliamentarians to prioritise their projects in their respective constituencies and their timely completion. He assured them of government’s assistance in their endeavour to resolve the problems faced by the people in their areas.The Parliamentarians thanked the Prime Minister for allocation of development funds for schemes involving development of infrastructure and extension of public utilities.They also apprised the Prime Minister about various issues specific to their respective areas. The parliamentarians who called on the Prime Minister included MNAs, Arif Aziz Shaikh, Muhammad Saddiq Khan Baloch, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Ms Farkhanda Amjad and MPA Col (Retd) Shabbir Awan.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that government is cognizant of the acute shortage of housing facility for government servants in the capital and stressed the need for addressing the problem on emergency basis to bridge the gap between the demand and availability of housing facilities.These observations were made by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf during a briefing made to him by the Ministry of Housing and Works on the construction of flats for government servants in Islamabad, at Prime Minster’s House on Friday afternoon. Secretary Housing and Works Kamran Lashari briefed the Prime Minister on the salient features of the project. He informed the Prime Minister that nearly 3500-5000 flats are proposed to be constructed in sector I-11 on a land spread over 50 acres owned by Pakistan Railways. The total cost of project is estimated at Rs 28 billion.Dilating on the present precarious housing situation, the Secretary Informed the Prime Minister that nearly 28,000 housing units were available for government servants against a total demand of 500,00.The Prime Minister in his observations during the meeting said that prima-facie the project seems feasible. We need to work out criteria for allotment of flats, ensure their construction according to international standards and affordability.The Prime Minister said that due to shortage of land for construction in Islamabad, Capital Development Authority (CDA) should encourage high-rise buildings in the capital. Federal Minister for Housing Sardar Talib Nakai in his comments during the meeting said that housing is a genuine demand of government servants and supported the project.Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Finance Minister said that Railways should be given due compensation of the land on which the project is to be constructed.Approving the project in principal, the Prime Minister constituted a task force comprising representatives of Housing, Railways, Finance and CDA for assessing the price of land and directed the task force to present its recommendations within a week.