Housing is a basic and fundamental human need. Today, there is a virtual housing crisis in the country. Rapid population growth, overcrowding, shortage of supply, aging housing stock, development of slums and Katchi Abadis, sera city of the land, and lack of financial resources has further aggravated the situation.
Pakistan is the seventh-most populist country in the world. According to the 2017 census, its population is 207.7 million and has grown at the rate of 2.4 percent per year in the intercensal period. Its urban population, on the other hand, has grown at the rate of 2.7 percent per year during the same period and is estimated at 75.5 million. According to the 2017 census, the total number of housing units throughout the country was 32.2 million. 63.6% of housing was in rural areas and 36.4% in urban areas.
As per Provisional results of the 2017 census, the urban population shows a growing trend with 36.4% of the population living in urban areas. The comparative position of Provinces and Areas shows a similar trend in urban population with a slightly higher increase in Punjab. On the other hand, a significant decrease has been observed in the percentage of the Urban population in ICT which went down from 65.72% to 50.58%, indicating that growth occurred in the rural areas of Islamabad. Amongst the provinces, Sindh is the most urbanized province, where 52.02% population lives in urban areas.
Federal Government Employee Housing Authority (earlier FGE Housing) Foundation) was established as a cell in Ministry of Housing & Works in 1989. Later on, it was registered with the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan as a Public Limited Company on 26th March 1990 under Companies Ordinance, 1984. The erstwhile FG Employees Housing Foundation has been established as Federal Government Employees Housing Authority through Ordinance promulgated on 12th July, 2019 by the President. Later on, the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority Act was passed through Parliament on 15th January 2020.
The FGE Housing Authority is a self-financed entity and does not get any funds from Govt. the exchequer. Therefore, FGE Housing Authority does not possess sufficient funds for the purchase of land in advance. Hence, a down payment is collected from its members at the time of the launch/announcement of housing schemes. The amount so collected is utilized for partial payment regarding the procurement of raw land. On receipt of installments collected from allottees, the balance amount of land is paid.