ISLAMABAD, April 13: The housing ministry has allotted 16 government houses to non-entitled people and made over 700 out-of-turn allotments.

This admission was made by Federal Housing Minister Syed Safwanullah in a written reply to a query by MNA Ramesh Lal, in the National Assembly on Thursday.

“Sixteen government quarters were given to non-entitled persons on standard rent during 2004-05,” the minister said.

As many as 35,000 government employees have been on the general waiting list for years to get official accommodation.

Besides, 743 government officials were allotted flats and quarters out of turn from June 2005 to March 2006. During the period in question, only 104 government quarters and flats were allotted to the people on general waiting list.

Several officials were allotted houses in the category beyond their entitlement. These allotments, the ministry said, were made because of the special circumstances of the applicants and in view of hardship cases.

The minister also admitted that certain government houses were under illegal occupation.

There are also instances of 52 people retaining official accommodation beyond their retirement and the grace period. These retired officials haven’t been paying any rent to the government either.

The housing minister informed the house that the federal government planed to launch a new residential scheme for the government employees in F-12.

About the Islamabad New City Project, Mr Safwanullah said the companies involved had been declared defaulters. An official liquidator has been appointed to dispose of property/assets for utilizing the proceeds towards payments to the affected people and clearing liabilities.

Since the National Accountability Bureau is also investigating the scam, all disbursements to the affected people would be made in consultation with the bureau.

The minister said no timeframe could be given for payment to the people.