Housing and Physical Planning

17.3 Replication of the Orangi Pilot Project and Khuda-ki-Basti models

The OPP and Khuda-ki-Basti models should be replicated in the 5 year plan period in at least 20 locations each, in Pakistan in the urban areas to serve up to 5 million low income homeless persons and those living in katchi abadis. Training for the replication strategy should be developed at the Research and Training Institute (RTI) at the OPP and a similar institution should be created for this purpose at the Khuda-ki-Basti at Hyderabad. The projects should be documented and monitored and should become training grounds for informal sector operators, professionals, students and government officials. The results of the research identified in paragraph 17.2 shall feed into the replication process.

Implementation: The implementation of these projects should be carried out by relevant urban development authorities and municipal councils with support from women’s groups. The planning for these projects and their monitoring and documentation should be done by the physical planning departments of the provinces through consultants who are acquainted with the strategies and operation of the two projects. All replication projects should be autonomous so as to be free of bureaucratic red-tapism. NGO help and support for various components of the projects should be sought.

17.4 Rural housing projects

Based on the research findings of the ‘facilitation’ concept, a process of upgrading the capacity and capability of 25 district councils in Pakistan to support rural housing processes through training, technical, managerial and small short term credit support to manufacturers, artisans, suppliers, house builders and owners should be initiated. The possibility of replicating the Khuda-ki-Basti and the OPP model should also be studied and if found suitable can be applied to this programme. The role of women in rural housing and their special needs should be studied and enhanced. The 25 projects should aim at reaching a population of about 3 million.

Implementation: The projects should again be autonomous and supported, monitored and documented by consultants with the involvement of government officials. The institutional framework within which it will function should be determined by the research for the ‘facilitation’ concept. The projects should serve as training and awareness raising centres for women’s groups, informal sector operators, students, professionals, government agencies etc.

17.5 Development of appropriate formal credit systems

Credit systems that can reach the majority target group will emerge from the pilot projects detailed above. Their integration into the formal credit system for house building must be achieved at the national level before the end of the 5 year plan period.

Implementation: HBFC, NGOs, the proposed pilot projects and the federal government will have to draft the necessary legislations, develop the procedures for loan disbursement and recovery, and identify the actors for the operation of the system before the end of the 8th Five Year Plan period so that it can become official policy during the 9th Five Year Plan period.

17.6 Joint man-woman ownership of housing

To make the policy recommendation of paragraph 16 (g) operational it will be necessary to

• Draft a suitable legislation;
• Lobby for its presentation and passage at the national and/or provincial assemblies;
• Promote it by developing appropriate procedures and rules for its execution;
• Get support for it among women (and men) so that it becomes part of informal sector practice.

Implementation: Women’s groups will have to hire lawyers to draft the legislation, promote it with the legislators to get it approved, lobby for its execution and launch an awareness raising programme for its social acceptance.

17.7 Promotion of employer built housing

Research should be carried out into how employers can be given incentives to build houses for their employees. These incentives would be easy access to land and long term credit; holiday from property tax for a period of time; reduction in excise and/or rates of services etc. Such a study would be made by, a consultant and under a number of separate provincial programmes the state could implement its recommendations.

17.8 Conclusion

The above programmes should be seen as the initial steps to bring about fundamental changes in housing policy and physical planning methodology. Based on this programme major changes can take place in the 9th Five Year Plan period. Although some components of these programmes can be successful such as research and the replication of the OPP and Khuda-ki-Basti schemes in the present set up, the ultimate success of the programme lies in the political will of the politicians and their dedication to the concept of programme proposed.

18. Tentative Budget Allocation