Senate body to take up out of turn allotments issue
By Saad Saud

ISLAMABAD—The Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works has decided to look into the matter of out of turn allotments and consider the allotments made by the government.
The decision in to this effect was taken during the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works held here at the Parliament House, Presided over by Chairman of the Committee Senator Dr. Muhammad Ali Brohi at the Parliament House. During the meeting, various issues pertaining to out of turn allotment made by the government and was given a comprehensive briefing on bringing the CDA under the administrative control of Ministry of Housing and Works rather than under Cabinet Division were discussed in the length.
During the proceedings of the Committee, the Ministry of Housing and Works was directed by the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works to give a detailed briefing in its next meeting on the need to place the Capital Development Authority under its control.
It was observed that placement of CDA under various ministries has hampered its performance very badly due to which neither proper attention was paid to the development of Islamabad nor sufficient sectors were acquired to ease the housing problems of the federal government employees.
The Committee in its meeting also decided to look into the matter of out of turn allotments and consider the allotments made by the government. Members of the Committee were of the view that housing is a crucial issue, which merits special attention to resolve the issue on war footing and provide accommodation to the low paid employees.
The Committee was given a detailed briefing on the names designation and the names ministries/divisions/departments of the government employees to whom accommodation has been allotted in Islamabad on out of turn basis in relaxation of rules since 2005. It was informed that 2745 allotments were made to the federal government servants keeping in view the hardships being faced by them whereas 322 allotments were made during the current caretaker set up.
The issue was raised by Senator Liaqat Ali Bangulzai in the Senate in which he asked the Minister for Housing & Works to state the names, designation, BPS and names of the Ministries / Divisions / Departments of the Government Employees to whom Government Accommodation has been allotted in Islamabad on out of turn basis in relaxation of rules since 2005 indicating also the reasons / basis for those allotments; and the number of allotments of Government Accommodation in Islamabad made according to general waiting list during said periods.
Minister for Housing and Works Nisar Muhammad Khan admitted the fact that Housing problem is getting more complicated and the need is to launch joint ventures with public-private partnership basis. He said that the Ministry of Housing and Works has also been assigned the work of Housing Schemes on ownership basis for the federally constituted occupational groups besides the construction of 37000 apartments on ownership basis to the low paid federal Government servants.