ISLAMABAD: The Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) has reduced the journalists’ quota from 2pc to 1pc to compensate judiciary, the foundation disclosed to a special committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday.
The committee has been tasked with examining the policy on plot allotments to government employees, journalists and other segments of society.
FGEHF Director-General Waqas Ali Mehmood, in response to a question by committee convenor Shafqat Mehmood about the reduction of the journalists’ quota, said the reduction was made to accommodate individuals who fall within the constitutional quota.
According to FGEHF website, the constitutional quota is meant for employees of Supreme Court, Islamabad High Court (IHC) and its subordinate judiciary, the Federal Shariat Court (FSC), the Election Commission of Pakistan, the Federal Ombudsman, Federal Tax Ombudsman, National Assembly and Senate.
A senior FGEHF official said the IHC, FSC and quasi-judicial bodies likes the Federal Ombudsman and Federal Tax Ombudsman have been added to the constitutional quota.
The director general told the committee that the majority of journalists have already availed subsidised plots and the 2pc quota was not fully exhausted in the last few schemes, it was decided that their quota would be reduced to adjust the constitutional quota.
The convenor then asked about the transparency in the allotment criteria, due to complaints that individuals working for dummy newspapers received plots under journalists’ quota.
Mr Mehmood said there should be a policy to empty the list of fake people who were encroaching on the rights of genuine journalists.
However, the FGEHF stated that the scrutiny of journalists was the mandate of the information ministry, and the acting information and broadcasting secretary Saba Mohsin claimed the ministry only accepts applications from journalists associated with newspapers from the central media list. Mr Mehmood said as a former information minister he knew the central media list very well.
Ms Mohsin told the committee that the Press Information Department had removed 400 dummy newspapers from the list over the last few months.
The convenor then asked CDA chairman Sheikh Ansar Aziz about the criteria for plot allotments, and Mr Aziz told the committee that the CDA makes 75pc of the allotments in its housing schemes through open balloting, 10pc to federal government employees, 5pc to defence paid employees and 5pc to deprived or deserving individuals. The remaining quota is for CDA employees – regular employees and those on deputation.
Director General Audit Maqbool Gondal told the committee that CDA had allotted 53 plots to individuals working on deputation. Mr Gondal claimed the majority of the officers also received subsidised plots from the FGEHF.
Mr Mehmood directed the foundation to submit a report on individuals who availed subsidised plots more than once.
The FGEHF director general said the foundation would examine the names of officials and cancel the second plots of non-entitled officials.
Published in Dawn February 1st, 2017
