ISLAMABAD: The management of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has demanded Rs400 million bailout package to pay salaries to the employees and revive the organisation hit by terrorism and 18th Constitution Amendment.

“The PTDC employees have not been receiving their salaries since September this year,” said a senior official of finance wing of the corporation.

The indecisiveness on part of the government that the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation will remain under the federal government or it will be devolved to provinces is mainly responsible for delay in payment of salaries, he said.

However, the PTDC employees were of the view that the organisation had not had sufficient funds to pay salaries to its employees as the government had stopped providing funds and the corporation's income generation capacity had declined due to terrorism.

They have also demanded the government to decide the PTDC future so they get at least their monthly salaries and dues.

They have advised the government to sell a precious 200 kanals of land of the PTDC in Zone 5 and a 12 kanal plot close to the building of Privatisation Commission on Constitution Avenue.

The number of employees working with the PTDC are said to be 800 including 400 regular and 400 contractual.

Like many other organisations, the PTDC was devolved to provinces under 18 Constitution Amendment but the federal government is reluctant to hand over the corporation's assets and its resorts to the provinces.

On the other hand provinces, which are not ready to take over non-profitable entities under 18th amendment, seemed to be eager to have PTDC assets and resorts.

“The government has stopped salaries of the employees putting 800 families in a miserable condition,” Anis Ahmed another employee of the corporation said.

He said not only salary of the employees had been stopped official cars given to the senior officials have also been taken away by the government or leasing companies/banks.

It has been learnt that a tug of war has started between the centre and the provincial governments over the devolution of the PTDC because they are not interested in tourism but in the assets of the corporation which are said to be over Rs35 billion.

The centre and the provincial governments are fighting for 39 hotels, motels and resorts in different parts of the country. According to unofficial estimates, the total value of the PTDC's property is said to be over Rs35 billion.

“Although the ministry of culture and tourism, under which the PTDC was working, has already been devolved, the federal government wants to retain the PTDC assets while the provinces also have their eyes on entities such as hotels, motels and resorts located within their jurisdiction,” the official said.

Senator Raza Rabbani said the ministry of tourism has been devolved to provinces in the second phase of devolution of powers but Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation is stuck at the Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) division because the distribution of the PTDC assets and its liabilities was a laborious and lengthy procedure.