Senate body asks Estate Office to improve performance

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works on Friday expressed disappointment at the poor performance of the Estate Office and directed the Housing and Works Ministry to take corrective steps in this respect.

The committee, which met at parliament house with Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash in the chair, discussed the performance of the Housing and Works Ministry and its allied departments.

The committee urged the ministry to take immediate steps to overcome shortage of housing units, which, it said, was stressing out government employees.

A committee member alleged that the Estate Office was illegally allotting government houses to non-government employees, denying the facility to entitled persons.

The committee asked the ministry to submit a report in this respect. At the same time, it formed a sub-committee to review allotment of government houses to un-entitled persons, and rule violations in some other matters.

Mir Mohabbat Khan Marri will head the sub-committee comprising Senators Saeeda Iqbal and Zafar Ali Shah.

The committee members said coordinated efforts were needed to overcome acute shortage of houses to the relief of government employees.

Earlier, Housing and Works Secretary GM Sikandar informed the committee about the allotment procedure of government houses and ongoing development schemes of the ministry.

He said there was a shortage of 22,825 housing units, adding 183 houses are in the illegal occupation of police. He, however, hastened to say that efforts were underway to vacate the illegally occupied houses from the trespassers. Besides senior officials of the ministry and its attached departments,

Senators Saeeda Iqbal, Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Saleh Shah, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Zafar Ali Shah, Nilofar Bakhtiar and Mir Mohabbat Khan Marri also attended the meeting.

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