Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Housing, Construction & Development to review the progress made on existing and new projects.
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While receiving a briefing from Surveyor General of Pakistan Maj. Gen. Shahid Pervez, the Prime Minister remarked that Cadastral Mapping would help in development of an authentic land record database. It would help in clearly identifying demarcation of land and thereby eliminate illegal encroachments, added the PM. Moreover, the authentic database would also contribute towards enhancing revenues received from lands, stated the PM.
The Prime Minister further said that “land-use changes need to be checked where green vegetation areas are being converted to urban projects”. He advised all the provincial and AJ&K Governments to expedite legislation to put a stop to land-use changes. The Prime Minister stated that protection of green spaces and agricultural lands is essential for environmental considerations and to safeguard food security. However, construction projects would be allowed under regulations.
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The NCC meeting was briefed that, under Phase-I of the mapping exercise, 90 % digitization of State Lands has been completed in Punjab, 96% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 50% in Balochistan. Chairman CDA informed that with the help of Cadastral Maps, CDA has started imposition of fines on encroachers and the amount collected is being used for compensation of general masses who were defrauded by illegal housing societies.
The NCC meeting was attended by Federal Minister Fawad Ahmed, Minister of State Farrukh Habib, SAPM Dr. Shehbaz Gill, SAPM Malik Amin Aslam, Minister Local Govt. Punjab Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, MNA Aftab Siddiqui, Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing & Development Authority Lt. Gen. (R) Anwar Ali Haider, Chairman FBR, Surveyor General of Pakistan, and senior officers. Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and AJ&K; and ACS Khyber Pakhtunkhwa joined the meeting via video link.
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Earlier the Prime Minister also chaired a meeting to review progress on Ravi Urban Development Project and Central Business District Lahore. The Prime Minister directed the concerned authorities to expedite progress as these projects are very important for attracting Foreign Direct Investment in the Country.
