PM revives two plots policy for BS-22 officers and SC judges

ISLAMABAD: Succumbing to the pressure of the civilian bureaucracy, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has revived the highly controversial policy of allotting two plots to all federal secretaries, Grade 22 officers and judges of the Supreme Court in Islamabad.
The policy, known as the Prime Minister’s Special Assistance Package, was suspended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself soon after coming into power in 2013 for being controversial and unfair. But now in an official summary forwarded to him by the Ministry of Housing and Works, the premier has ordered the revival of the policy.
While the poor and disadvantaged here have no share in the state’s resources, this policy allows all the federal secretaries, Grade 22 officers and even the judges of the apex court to get two plots in the federal capital.
It is interesting to note that while the PML-N commitment to provide housing to the poor of the country remains a far cry, the government has decided to allot additional plots to the topmost members of the civilian bureaucracy by creating new sectors- F-14 and F-15- in the federal capital.
The policy of allotting two plots to the most influential members of the bureaucracy was introduced during General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorial rule.
Initially this policy was introduced for only federal secretaries but later it was extended to all Grade-22 officers. After his Nov 3, 2007 unconstitutional action against the superior judiciary, Musharraf had extended this policy to the Supreme Court judges.
During the last PPP regime, this controversial policy remained implemented despite the rejection of the policy by the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.
The PAC had recommended the abolition of the allocation of plots to judges, generals, bureaucrats, journalists and others at throwaway prices but neither the previous government nor the present one has shown any interest in implementing what was recommended by the parliamentary body.
Such is the severity of the politics of plots in today’s Pakistan that every Supreme Court judge, federal secretary and BS-22 officer is entitled to have two residential plots in Islamabad. In addition, many of these federal secretaries and BS-22 officers also get plots from the provincial governments.
Some of the BS-22 officers, particularly those belonging to the Police Service of Pakistan, get additional plots from the Police Foundation. There are even a few retired BS-22 police officers each of whom has got half a dozen plots from the Police Foundation.
Every secretary interior is also entitled to get a plot from the Police Foundation besides what he gets from the federal government. Those who get the chance to serve in the Capital Development Authority even on deputation acquire a residential plot for the mere reason that they had got a posting in the CDA.
After the federal secretaries were allowed two residential plots in the federal capital, the then government decided to extend this facility to the judges of the Supreme Court as well despite the fact the former chief justice had taken suo moto notice of the two plots policy for federal secretaries before Musharraf’s Nov 3, 2007 emergency.
The Dogar court had not only dismissed the CJ’s suo moto case but all the then PCO judges of the SC accepted the offer of two plots.
In 2013, the Law Ministry had found the allotment of expensive residential plots in Islamabad to key staff members by the former prime minister as unconstitutional and illegal and recommended that this practice of favouring sycophants should be buried forever.
In its advice to the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation, the Law Ministry had said that this system of promoting coteries, cronies and sycophants must be banished and buried forever. It would now be for the new government to devise a strategy to curb the politics of plots.
“This system is contrary to democratic norms and results in invidious discrimination and is also violative of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The allotment of government plots to the coteries is against all norms of good governance,” the Law Ministry had said.