Housing schemes for govt employees ordered

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* 40,717 disabled persons registered in two years, Senate told

ISLAMABAD: Sub-Committee of Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works on Friday directed ministries to start housing schemes to accommodate their employees and move legislation in the parliament in this regard, with providing an assurance to favour the bill.
The committee met here at the Parliament House with Senator Nilofar Bukhtiar in the chair. Senator Abdul Khaliq Peerzada and respective officials of WAPDA, PTCL and others attended the meeting.
The committee directed the State Department to construct a large housing scheme, especially for the low-paid employees, even outside the capital territory, following arrangement of a bus service for pick and drop to the employees.
It took notice of the cases in which police officials have not paid rent of their houses. The chairperson of the committee said that Islamabad police needed a housing scheme.
She directed that the every house to be vacated by the police should be returned to the Estate Office. The committee directed the police department to expedite efforts for launching housing schemes, earlier promised by the prime minister himself.
The committee chairperson also directed Itsalat International Company to facilitate PTCL employees to meet increasing house rents or starting a new housing scheme.
Meanwhile, Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Samina Khalid Ghurki on Friday said that as many as 40,717 disabled persons were registered during the years 2007-08 and 2008-09.
Responding during the question hour session in the Senate, she said that the National Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (NCRDP) registered 1,604 disabled persons: Provincial Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (PCRDP) Punjab registered 8,125 persons; PCRDP Sindh registered 770; PCRDP NWFP registered 30,218, however PCRDP Balochistan has not provide data of registered disabled persons yet.
She said that under Employment & Rehabilitation Ordinance, 1981, disabled persons have been defined as “a person who on account of injury, disease or congenital deformity, is handicapped for undertaking any gainful profession or employment in order to earn his livelihood, and includes a person who is blind, deaf, physically handicapped or mentally retarded.”
She said that a person is declared disabled by the Medical Assessment Board on the basis of assessment of their disability and issued disability certificate.
These medical boards have been constituted by NCRDP and PCRDP at the provincial level, she added.
Responding to another question, she said that there is no quota for the parliamentarians under the ‘Jahez Fund’ from Bait-ul-Mall.
She said that since the Benazir Income Support Programme has been started for the welfare of the poor people, the Food Support Programme has been terminated.
The Senators expressed concerns that the ministry was not considering their applications for the help of deserving people.
The minister said that PBM was facing shortage of funds and the applications were being entertained and considered after the scrutiny.
She, however, assured the House that the applications referred by parliamentarians would be considered.
Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek also directed the minister to address grievances of the parliamentarians. app