Govt to raise house rental ceiling by 25%
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro on Monday directed the Ministry of Housing and Works to come up with proposals of constructing high rise apartment complex which could resolve the housing shortage in the capital. The Prime Minister further directed that besides expediting work on projects in hand, new projects must be initiated on priority basis so as to ensure the provision of housing to the government servants on ownership basis.
He was chairing a high level meeting to review the housing problems in Islamabad here at the Prime Minister Secretariat this afternoon. In order to ensure transparency regarding allotment of houses strictly in accordance with the laid down procedure and to observe the general waiting list, the meeting decided to repeal Rule 29A which empowered the Ministry of Housing to allot house/flat on out of turn basis thus depriving the government servants to get the government accommodation on merit.
The meeting also decided that retention of government houses by the retired officials beyond the prescribed period of time would not be allowed at any cost. The meeting also decided to further raise the ceiling for hiring of private houses by 25% which would be incorporated in the next budget. In order to address the problems of Islamabad Police Officials to live in a reasonable accommodation, the Prime Minister directed the Islamabad Capital Police to construct accommodation for their staff on fast track basis and asked the Ministry of Finance to release requisite funds for this purpose.