ISLAMABAD: Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa on Wednesday informed the Senate Committee on House and Library that the annual budget for Parliament Lodges for the year 2024-25 was around Rs369.261 million against the required amount of Rs850 million.

The members of the committee, headed by Senate Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan, discussed the current status of 104 under-construction new suites of Parliament Lodges.

The officials explained that the project was initiated in 2011 with an estimated cost of around Rs2.9 billion. However, they said construction work had been halted since 2016 due to litigation with the contractor. The committee was informed that the cost of the project now stood around Rs8.62 billion.

They said the CDA had submitted PC-I to the Planning Commission to secure budgetary allocation for the completion of Phase I, which included 54 suites.

The secretary for the Ministry of Planning and Development informed the committee that a meeting of the Planning Committee was scheduled for this week to review the PC-I of the new block.

The committee recommended the planning ministry ensure the required budgetary allocation for the completion of Phase I of the new block.

While discussing the vacation of family suites occupied by former members, the deputy chairman asserted that the members were legally bound to vacate the accommodation after the expiration of their term.

He recommended that illegally occupied accommodations be vacated as soon as possible. He also recommended that renovation work of the newly allocated suites be conducted based on necessity.

The meeting was attended by Senators Attaur Rehman, Khalida Ateeb, Hidayatullah Khan, Bilal Ahmad Khan, Nasir Mehmood, Dr Zarqa Suharwardhy Taimur, special secretary for the Ministry of Interior, the secretary Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives Awais Manzur Sumra and other senior officials of relevant departments.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024