THE PPP’s Sindh Government surely deserves appreciation for successfully implementing the People’s Housing Initiative which reflects commitment of the party to give practical shape to the popular slogan of the founder of the party Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to ensure food, clothing and shelter for all citizens. PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday distributed title deeds to five thousand families in Larkana in the first phase of the project to give residential plots’ ownership rights to flood victims of Sindh.
It is yet another people-friendly initiative of the PPP’s Sindh Government that would go a long way in mitigating woes of the shelterless people. Apart from allotting plots to the flood affected people, the provincial government’s plans to provide financial assistance to them for construction of about two million houses. Mr. Bilawal gave a welcome assurance that the Government would ensure the quality of these houses so that these could withstand floods in future. The Minister has a point in taking credit for steps taken to mitigate sufferings of the flood affected people as he not only took up the issue with the international community securing commitments for assistance for the huge task of rebuilding and reconstruction but also forcefully pleaded their case with the federal government. In fact, the Sindh Government is taking a genuine interest in addressing the housing issue as was also reflected in a recent decision to construct 6500 housing units over an area of 248 acres to resettle the affected people of three nullahs in the Malir Development Authority area in Karachi. The provincial government is also implementing another initiative – a low cost housing scheme known as ‘Sasti Basti’ in various districts of the province under which plots are allotted to deserving people at affordable rates on easy instalments. The scheme has the potential to contribute a lot in resolving the shortage of houses if its scope is implemented and a mechanism is evolved for provision of financial assistance for construction of houses.
