LAHORE: Some institutes of the Punjab Specialized Healthcare Medical Education Department are paying hefty monthly rent to private buildings, increasing enormous financial burden on the national exchequer.

Reports say the rent of private properties is many times higher than the market rates, raising the eyebrows of many concerned stakeholders who want the government to inquire into the matter through third parties to bring facts to the public.

Documents reveal that four government institutes have been paying over Rs7 million in rent to private building owners for many years. Some officials said that private buildings were being rented despite the health secretariat on Queens Road having enough space to accommodate these institutes to save public money. Also, the hardships of people increased manifold when they have to visit the ‘scattered government health offices’ in the provincial capital, as many issues were of a common nature involving multiple state-run institutes.

According to documents, a monthly rent of Rs3.6 million is being paid by various offices of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC). The commission’s three head offices in rented buildings in Lahore are paying around Rs3 million, while offices in other cities are paying Rs600,000 every month. Three of the PHC offices located in Garden Town are paying Rs2.3 million, Rs387,750, and Rs280,000 in rent.

The Multan Region office in Multan is on a monthly rent of Rs205,000, the Bahawalpur Regional Office in Bahawalpur Rs106,945, and the Sargodha Region in Sargodha Rs130,000.

Sources say the health department has sufficient official buildings in these cities where these institutes can be shifted to avoid the loss of public money.

Similarly, the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company housed in a rented building in Gulberg of Lahore pays Rs1.3 million rent. This company has paid over Rs80 million in rent so far.

The Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority pays Rs1.3 million rent to a private owner of the building in Shadman, whereas the office of the Punjab Pharmacy Council took a private villa on rent for Rs800,000 per month in Garden Town, Lahore.

Officials say that the huge expenses in the name of huge salary packages being drawn by the officials running these government offices are in addition to the millions of rupees going to the pockets of private building owners every month, while the performance of these institutes has been under question.

While the government is spending millions on rent, poor and deserving patients have become rolling stones in the public sector major hospitals of Lahore where they were neither getting free medicines nor tests. The situation was so irritating that the five major government hospitals have been declared defaulters of Rs9 billion due to non-availability of funds. As as result, the supply of medicines has been suspended, most diagnostic facilities have been shut down, and surgeries postponed.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024