Housing loans for govt workers proposed

The government is planning to arrange credit for lower cadre non-gazetted employees so they can benefit from the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP) and to also allow overseas Pakistanis to avail loans under Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP), which is expected to be formally launched across the country on March 1 by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The two proposals were discussed at two separate but related meetings on NPHP and KPP presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday. During the meeting on the housing programme, the finance minister asked State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir to work out a mechanism — consultation with banks and insurance companies — for including non-gazetted employees of the government and its various departments in NPHP so that low-income employees could also benefit from the scheme. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, Naya Pakistan Housing Development Authority (NAPHDA) Chairman Anwar Ali Hyder had pointed out that some operational and functional constraints impeding the smooth implementation of the government’s agenda to provide houses to the low-income segment of society — especially government employees and private salaried class.