ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: As the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) is to be devolved under the 18th constitution amendment, a tug of war has started between the centre and provinces over distribution of the corporation's assets worth over Rs35 billion.

“Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will decide the fate of the PTDC in its board meeting in the near future,” said a senior official of the corporation on condition of anonymity.

The date of the meeting has not been fixed and uncertainty in the corporation has compelled its employees to seek help from the Supreme Court, he said.

It has been learnt that the provincial and federal governments are not interested in tourism but in the PTDC assets in different parts of the country.

They are fighting over the distribution of 39 hotels, motels and resorts in different parts of the country.

“Though the ministry of culture and tourism, under which the PTDC was working, has already been devolved, the federal government wants to retain control on the assets while the provinces also have their eyes on entities such as hotels, motels and resorts,” the official said.

As the row between Islamabad and the provinces continued, PTDC employees have been struggling to feed their families because they have not been paid salaries for the last five months.

In fact, more than 540 employees of PTDC have decided to file a petition with the Supreme Court.

When contacted, Senator Raza Rabbani said: “The ministry of tourism has been devolved to provinces in the second phase of devolution of powers but PTDC is stuck at the inter-provincial coordination division because the distribution of PDTC assets and its liabilities is a laborious and lengthy procedure.”

He said the PTDC was a corporation and it has to be devolved under a specific procedure for liquidation of its assets. Another official of the PTDC said a delegation of the corporation had met President Asif Ali Zardari and the prime minister and apprised them of the problems being faced by the employees.

They were informed that if the PTDC was devolved there would be no central authority to promote tourism inside and outside the country.

The prime minister, the official said, was convinced that all hotels, motels and resorts of the PTDC should remain under the control of the federal government.

“In other countries, tourism development bodies work under the central government which can promote tourism internationally,” he said.

The government has also been advised to carry out an evaluation of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation assets before a final decision is taken about the fate of the corporation.

Some of the main assets of the PTDC include a plot near the sports gymnasium at Shakarparian and a restaurant at Daman-i-Koh in Islamabad; a restaurant at Jaltrang, motels at Saidu Sharif, Kalam, Maindam, Chakdara, Panakot/Dir, Chitral, Chattar Plain, Besham, Barseen, Balakot, Naran, Ayubia, Gilgit, Gopis, Hunza, Phandar, Rama Lake, Sust, Astak, Khaplu, Satpara, Sakardu, Taftan (Pak-Iran boarder), Ziarat, Khuzdar, Chaman, Taxila, Wagah border, Bahawalpur and Moenjodaro.