G-6 quarter: Ownership right to occupants still unfulfilled promise

[LRE]

G-6 quarter: Ownership right to occupants still unfulfilled promise

By Atif Khan

ISLAMABAD: The government has failed to fulfill its promise of granting ownership rights of G-6 residential quarters to their present occupants in the last one year.

To make things even worse for quarter residents, Capital Development Authority (CDA) has also stopped maintenance work at these housing units.

Khalid Chaudhry, who lives in a G-6 quarters, complained to Daily Times that they’d been awaiting ownership papers for the last one year. He said quarters direly needed repair/maintenance. He complained of roof leakage during rainy days and poor disposal of waste.

He said last year, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz had announced grant of the quarters’ ownership right to present occupants. He said flats were constructed 50 years ago.

Ghluam Sikandar, another resident of the quarters, said garbage receptacles placed near quarters had been lying unattended for the last many weeks. He said heaps of garbage seen all over the place had caused spread of rats in G-6. He feared increase in rodent population, if not checked at the earliest, could lead to outbreak of plague.

He said the CDA’s sanitation department had sprayed no insecticide in the area over the last many years. He said heaps of garbage and pools of dirty water had caused population of mosquitoes and flies to grow persistently over a period of time.

A government servant living in the quarters complained sewerage lines of the area were blocked due to CDA Sanitation Department’s inefficiency.

He said the CDA’s 24-hour complaint number, 111-000-232, was of no use in view of growing complaints of the quarter residents.

He said occupants of the housing had been getting maintenance work done themselves.

A CDA official, who wished not to be named, said residents had raised illegal structures on the premises of G-6 quarters to accommodate more and more people. He said sewerage system was unable to bear this additional load and began malfunctioning.

He said residents of many quarters earned Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 a month by renting rooms though they paid the government very little as rent.

The official said such occupants should separate some money from illegal earning for maintenance instead of looking to the government for the purpose.

The Housing Ministry officials said there were around 3,600 A, B, C, D and E-type quarters in G-6. They said each quarters could accommodate one small family but most of such lodgings were currently occupied by two to three families.

They said the CDA was responsible for demolishing illegal structures built on these quarters.

The officials said the capital mostly occupied by government servants was seriously short of housing units.

They suggested construction of new houses on emergency basis.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg11_4