ISLAMABAD, Sept 10: The Ministry of Housing and Works has proposed a substantial increase in the monthly rents of Federal Lodges and family suites of Gulshan-i-Jinnah Complex.

Official sources said the rents of 201 family suits at Gulshan-i-Jinnah, located in Sector F-5/1, were being increased by 170 per cent, from Rs2,325 to Rs6,000 per month.

The ministry, they said, had set up a committee to recommend increase in the rental charges of Gulshan-i- Jinnah and Federal Lodges in Islamabad and Peshawar; Chamba House, Lahore; and Qasr-i-Naz, Karachi.

The ministry is of the view that the expenses being incurred on these hostels and family suites are high, compared to its earnings.

An official of Public Works Department (PWD) said all the lodges and family suites were being maintained by the department and for this purpose a huge staff had been posted there.

He said more than 60 officials of both electrical and civil departments had been deputed at Gulshan-i-Jinnah.

The residents, when interviewed, said most of the staff members remained absent and, throughout the day, only 15 to 18 officials of civil department could be found at the location.

The PWD collects at least Rs400,000 per month from Gulshan-i-Jinnah residents, 90 per cent of whom are government employees.

The residents said the housing ministry’s argument regarding increase in rents was not justified, because it had raised the rent from Rs1,240 to Rs2,325 per month (almost 100 per cent) five years ago. Moreover, the water charges were also increased by 100 per cent, from Rs50 to Rs 100 per month, last year.

Now a massive 170 per cent increase in the rent, just after five years, will be an extra burden on the government employees, they added.

The sources said former housing minister Abbas Sarfaraz Khan had refused the proposal last year, saying the increase in the rent of federal lodges and the family suites would indirectly hit the national kitty as the government officers, during their official visits, stay in the lodges and claim rental charges from the government. Therefore, the government will have to pay more.

The recommendations of the committee set up to revise rents of family suites and federal lodges will be sent to the Chief Executive Secretariat for approval, the sources said.— APP