November 20, 2006	Monday	Shawwal 27, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: Eighty-one personnel of Islamabad police have secured stay orders from courts to resist eviction from the government quarters and flats which the Estate Office claims they have been occupying illegally for years.

Meanwhile, the government has cancelled the accommodation of another 82 police officials who had been allotted quarters on standard rent in violation of the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission (PMIC). They include three DSPs, ASIs and head-constables and have moved court to avoid their eviction.

A working paper of the subcommittee of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing, Works and Environment has revealed the names and ranks of these police employees. A copy of the working paper, which has been submitted to the standing committee, is available with Dawn.

In the paper the subcommittee has expressed grave concern over the inability of the Estate Office and the housing ministry to evict these officials from government accommodation.

Beside these high and low-ranking police officers, a good number of constables, head constables, upper division clerks, Langris, bearers and a lady head-constable are also occupying government quarters.

According to the paper, the Estate Office has so far got 90 other flats and quarters vacated. Eight new allotments made to the police officials have also been cancelled but these are still being occupied by them.

It was agreed in the meetings held by the Estate Office and the housing ministry with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chaudhry Iftikhar and the interior ministry that all illegal occupants would be directed to leave the official accommodations.

The National Assembly Standing Committee and Assurance Committee had also directed the IGP to get these accommodations vacated but to no avail.

Sources privy to the Senate Standing Committee told Dawn that 3,000 unauthorised allotments had also been made to the federal government employees right under the nose of Minister for Housing and Works Syed Safwanullah. However, no one at the Estate Office or the housing ministry was willing to reveal the details in this regard.

The paper says the ministry had recently conducted a study through a consultancy on the existing housing problems in the federal capital, which recommended that the rental ceiling of the federal government servants be monetised in line with the worldwide trend.

The housing ministry has now submitted a fresh summary to the prime minister through the Finance Division for monetisation of the housing subsidy by paying the existing rental ceiling to the employees as part of their emoluments instead of paying it to the owners of the houses hired by the government. Many developing and developed countries like Malaysia, Hungary, India and USA have already switched over to this system.