26 December 2021

Rs. 100 billion of Housing Loans under Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar

It is great to know that private banks have achieved the mark of dispensing Rs. 100 billion worth of housing loans. Lauding the approval of over Rs 100 billion housing loans by private banks under Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar Scheme, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government’s scheme of subsidized loans for house construction would not only help the low-income group to own a house but also boost the national economy through enhanced construction activity.

Speaking in a ceremony for marking the approval of over Rs 100 billion housing loans Imran Khan said it was pleasing that the banks had approved loans for the low-income group and hoped that more people could be attracted if the scheme was properly marketed citing its ease and incentives. Earlier, the prime minister distributed house keys among the beneficiaries of the loan scheme and shields among three private banks which have showed impressive performance during the process.

Last Chance for DHA & Clifton Cantonment

The Sindh High Court grants last chance to the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to file comprehensive reports till Feb 10, 2022 over release of sewage and dumping of waste into the sea. The apex court came down hard on both civic agencies for not filing compliance reports and warned that in case of failure, an appropriate order would be passed against delinquent of officers.

The World Wide Fund for Nature and other non-governmental organizations had petitioned the SHC in 2017 against dumping of sewage and industrial waste into the sea. The petitioners had informed the bench that the sea was being polluted by the sewage at the Seaview near the chunky monkey amusement park and a fast food outlet. In order to ascertain the ground reality a notice was issued to the DHA and CBC in October, 2019 and the court had directed the CBC and DHA officials to file reports in September last year. However, the report hasn’t been filed yet and the CBC once again requested the bench for more time to file the report, therefore the time was allowed by the court as a last chance.

Sad Demise of Infocus.com Founding Director

The Editorial board of Infocus.com informs its followers with deep sorrow that one of its founding director Muhammad Shamim breathed his last breath this week. He was severely ill during his last days and also on kidney failure treatment since the last six and half years.

Muhammad Shamim has been the earliest founder of Infocus.com, who contributed a lot in shaping editorial policies and content management. Earlier he had served as the Director Local Fund Audit, Sindh and also in the capacity of Consultant, Finance in various development projects, before founding Infocus.com. He had wonderful knacks on urban and civic administration, local government laws as well as local fund management. His loss is heartbreaking and irreparable.

Judgment reserved on Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project

The Lahore High Court reserved its judgment this week in a set of petitions challenging the land acquisition for the Riverfront Urban Development Project (RUDP) as well as violations of environmental laws by the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA). Various farmers, land owners and developers as petitioners had challenged the legality of forceful acquisitions of land for the project’ commercial purposes under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Some of them even questioned the legality of the Environment Impact Assessment of the project prepared by a non-registered consultant.
In the concluding hearing, Advocate General of Punjab (AGP) Ahmad Awais advanced his arguments in favor of the project. However, Advocate Amina Qadir, who was appointed as amicus curiae by the court, submitted that there was no adequate compensation mechanism defined for the people whose land had been forcibly acquired. The judge had stayed the process of land acquisition for not meeting the legal requirements and environmental laws.

 
Air Quality Monitoring Stations

Setting up Air Quality Monitoring Stations has been hinted or suggested for important cites of Pakistan, amid growing challenges of air pollution and environment. The federal government is said to be already helping the Punjab government and a project in cooperation with the World Bank is under way for setting up air quality monitoring centers in Lahore. However, according to the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam “We need same kind of centers in Karachi and we will design a broad-based strategy and definitely being a federal organization, we will also define the role of the Met office in this particular area.”

Similarly the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has prepared the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Winter Contingency Plan calling for the establishment of air quality monitoring stations in major cities of the province. According to the PDMA, the initiative is meant to assess preparedness at provincial and district levels to handle emergency. The climate and environment activists believe that air quality monitoring centers are crucial while keeping in view the growing challenge of global warming situations.