ISLAMABAD (APP) - The government has earmarked Rs 10 billion as revolving fund for 'Housing for All' plan of PPP-led coalition government to provide shelter to homeless people. According to official sources, out of the above fund Rs 2 billion have been allocated for current year's expenditure under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in his maiden speech to the National Assembly after taking the oath of confidence had announced construction of one million houses for low-income strata of the society. The sources said that currently, around 300,000 housing units are being constructed against an annual demand of 650,000 units, with the backlog of 6.5 million houses continuing to increase. The Ministry of Housing and Works is working on war footing to make practical this gigantic plan and reduce the backlog both financially and environmentally, they said and added that modalities for its implementation are being finalized. Minister for Housing and Works Rehmatullah Kakar is busy in meetings with the stakeholders to identify government land throughout the country to start work on the project in the new fiscal year, the sources added. Time has come that the public sector should play the role of a facilitator instead of developer as no major housing scheme has been carried out by the government during the last 20 years and the backlog has been constantly increasing, they added. Land banks will be established whereby federal and provincial state lands be transferred to the proposed land banks, they said. Availability of the land in the land banks will be increased by purchasing cheap lands in towns and in the proposed development corridor with determined growth potential,they added. They said that the housing schemes will initially be started in big cities; Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar and later on the scheme will start at district level. The government is also focusing on attracting foreign investment in the much neglected housing sector and in this connection parleys with various foreign construction companies are going on, the official sources said, adding that a number of foreign construction firms have shown keen interest in housing sector in the country.