Islamabad: The Ministry of Housing and Works has sought authorization to ease the restrictions on the development of housing or hostel facilities for the employees in service of the federal government, according to news published on November 29.
As per the sources, the federal cabinet imposed a ban on the development of new housing facilities for federal employees on January 14, 1995 – which led to a shortage of accommodations for federal employees. It was also highlighted that the ban on new projects was placed under the plan to monetize the federal government employees’ housing. However, the monetization strategy wasn’t implemented.
According to the data, some 17,496 residential units are available and allotted, whereas almost as many employees are presently listed on the waiting lists. It was also highlighted that one or two-storey quarters on land owned by the government in Sectors G-6, G-7 and F-6 have been built in the 1960s and 70s have long ended up being of practical use and need to be dismantled.
To this effect, the Ministry of Housing and Works has made the following recommendations to the Secretaries Committee:
Elimination of the monetization policy imposed on the construction of new residences/hostels for federal employees
Establishment of the Urban Regeneration, Human Settlement, and Social Housing Board under the Ministry of Housing and Works by bringing ‘the Right to Shelter Act, 2022’ before the legislature
The ministry has made it clear that renewal costs will be borne by various commercialization strategies and the national exchequer will not be burdened with it.
Iqra holds BS in International Relations and is passionate about writing engaging content on trending real estate topics. When not working, she is either spending time with family, shopping, or discussing shows & movies.
