Half of 37,000 Govt Houses Occupied Rent-Free as Police Run Up Rs 1b Dues

Senate panel flags years-long rent defaults, illegal occupation of official flats, stalled housing schemes and growing grievances of journalists and housing affectees

Hamid Khan Wazir

ISLAMABAD: Nearly half of the country’s 37,000 government houses are being occupied without rent, while police personnel alone have accumulated around Rs 1 billion in unpaid dues since 2007, as 125 official flats remain occupied despite a two-year deadline for their vacation.

The startling disclosures before the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works exposed serious lapses in the management of government residences, recovery of rent and implementation of housing schemes, with lawmakers questioning why authorities had failed to recover billions of rupees and enforce orders to vacate official properties.

The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Nasir Mehmood Butt, discussed a range of issues, including recovery of government house rent, police occupation of official residences, stalled housing schemes, the plight of Thalian Housing Scheme affectees, former PWD employees and the housing quota for journalists.

Nearly half of government houses occupied without rent

The Federal Secretary for Housing told the committee that around 37,000 government residences existed across the country, but nearly 50 per cent of their occupants were not paying rent.

In several cases, outstanding dues had reached hundreds of thousands of rupees. The department has issued between 8,000 and 10,000 notices in recent months to recover the outstanding amounts. The issue of police personnel occupying government residences without paying rent came under particular scrutiny.

The Director General of the Estate Office informed the committee that some police officials had been living in government houses since 2007 and collectively owed approximately Rs1 billion in rent.

Committee Chairman Senator Nasir Butt questioned why the government had failed to recover the amount for so many years. He observed that police personnel continued to receive house rent from the government exchequer while failing to pay rent for the official residences they occupied.

Police given another deadline to vacate 125 flats

The committee also examined the continued occupation of 125 government flats by police personnel. The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Headquarters requested additional time to vacate the flats, saying they could be cleared within a month or slightly more.

Senator Jan Muhammad Buleidi pointed out that the police had already been given two years to vacate the flats but had failed to comply. The committee chairman granted another one-and-a-half months and directed the police to vacate the flats within the stipulated period.

Thalian affectees await plots or refunds

The plight of affectees of the Thalian Housing Scheme also came under discussion. The affectees told the committee that they had deposited money for plots in 2015 but had neither received the plots nor refunds.

Senator Talha Mahmood said approximately Rs2.9 billion had been collected from the affectees and claimed that the money was lying in a bank. He called for the victims to be accommodated in an alternative housing scheme.

Senator Nasir Butt questioned why the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) had launched housing schemes that could not subsequently be completed. He observed that none of the projects launched after 2007 had been completed.

The Housing Secretary told the committee that no Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) project had been successfully completed and that the G-12 scheme had yet to be launched. He said the Thalian Housing Scheme affectees could be provided plots once the G-12 scheme was launched.

Journalists demand restoration of 2pc housing quota

The committee also held a detailed discussion on the housing quota for journalists and media workers. Senator Jan Muhammad said journalists had traditionally been allocated a two per cent quota in housing schemes, but the quota had been reduced to one per cent in the latest scheme.

He demanded restoration of the two per cent quota to ensure that journalists from Islamabad and Rawalpindi were not deprived of their share. The Housing Secretary said the file concerning the journalists’ quota had reached him only two days earlier and had previously remained pending with the Ministry of Information. He said available plots could be allocated to journalists, but some time would be required to restore the two per cent quota.

National Press Club President Abdul Razzaq Sial told the committee that the journalists’ two per cent quota had been divided into one per cent each for journalists and media workers after media employees also sought representation.

He disclosed that around 2,200 applications from journalists and media workers were currently pending against only 237 available plots. Sial further revealed that the cases of 37 journalists seeking plots in F-14 had remained pending since 2004.

The committee chairman assured him that necessary directions would be issued, while the Housing Secretary said he would take the matter to the relevant forum. The secretary said accommodating journalists in existing schemes was difficult, but they could be given a quota in future projects.

During the discussion, Senator Talha Mahmood jokingly told the Housing Secretary to restore the journalists’ quota to two per cent, “otherwise a news story will appear against you.”

The Housing Secretary responded that he needed journalists’ support to make housing projects successful and assured them of his cooperation.

Chairman Nasir Butt said he would send a recommendation for a two per cent quota and, in a lighter exchange, told the secretary that journalists should now publish “good news” about him. He added that otherwise, “you know we can also get it cancelled,” drawing laughter from the committee.

Former PWD employees adjusted

The committee was also informed that all former PWD employees had been adjusted in other government departments.

Committee seeks action on housing crisis

At the conclusion of the meeting, the committee expressed serious concern over the prolonged non-payment of government house rent, continued occupation of official residences, stalled housing projects and failure to provide relief to affectees.

It directed the relevant authorities to accelerate recovery of outstanding rent, ensure that police-occupied flats were vacated within the stipulated period and take practical measures to resolve the grievances of victims of stalled housing schemes.