NA body to resolve issue of illegal occupation of govt houses

ISLAMABAD: As many as 511 government bungalows/ houses in the federal capital are being illegally occupied by high ranking officers after retirement or dismissal from service and they are not ready to vacate them beyond the period of six months allowed under the rules. Official sources told The News on Wednesday that the rules allow any officer living in a government accommodation to keep the house allotted to him for six months after his or her retirement but in the case under review, officers of BPS 20 to 21 were not ready to vacate despite notices and some of them had lived in the houses for more than one year. Interestingly, two of these illegal occupants were dismissed from service.

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Housing and Works in its meeting on March 3 decided to constitute a sub-committee to thrash out the longstanding issue of illegal allotments/occupation of government residences and to suggest measures how to get rid of hundreds of illegal occupants of these houses as there was long waiting list of those genuinely deserving in-service officials who are waiting to get abodes for years.

The sub-committee is expected to meet next week to deliberate on the issues of illegal occupation of official residences by retired officers and propose steps to eject them from those houses.

Rajab Ali, MNA, is the convener of the sub-committee, which comprises  Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Rana Zahid Hussain and Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb, MNAs, and it has been tasked to submit its report within 30 days.

Another issue of two estate officers is also to be sorted out by the sub-committee who in flagrant violation of relevant rules got the houses allotted in their names. The two houses designated for the tenure officers, Estate Officer and Assistant Estate Officer, were allotted in the name of concerned officials which was also in violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. Under the rules, the designated houses cannot be allotted in the officials’ name since these can only be occupied by the tenure officers serving in the estate office.