ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Friday directed the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) to provide complete details of its new housing project near Islamabad Airport in the next sitting.

Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works, headed by chairman Senator Nasir Mehmood, discussed the new FGEHA project, which it is going to start under public-private partnership and sought complete details of this project including the MoU signed with ZKB Town.

The committee emphasised that all public-private partnerships must comply with policy and Executive Board decisions, ensuring full transparency.

Recently, FGEHA signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ZKB Town to develop a large-scale residential housing project under the FGEHA (JV & PPP) Rules, 2025, based on the End Product Model.

Says all public-private partnerships must comply with policy to ensure transparency

Through this project, FGEHA, while signing the MoU, had stated that this project was aimed at providing quality and affordable residential plots to federal government employees. In the initial phase, the project will cover more than 6,000 kanals located near Islamabad International Airport and Motorway M-14. The FGEHA stated that approximately 10,000 registered members will be accommodated in the first phase of this housing scheme.

Earlier, during the meeting, it once again discussed the issue of 38-kanal Constantia Estate at Kashmir Point, Murree, belonging to now defunct Public Work Department of Ministry of Housing and Works.

The committee was briefed about this issue and was informed that the commissioner Rawalpindi had received the original file of the property, though the title in favour of Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD) is yet to be verified. The Ministry of Housing and Works, in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice, is exploring legal action against frivolous litigants and trespassers.

The committee was informed that in line with the federal cabinet’s decision of June 18, the watch and ward functions of Constantia Lodge have been transferred from Pak-PWD to the Estate Office with effect from July 1.

The officials of the housing ministry told the committee that prefabricated containers have been installed for staff, and the technical team is preparing cost estimates for the construction of a boundary wall to secure the premises.

Meanwhile, the committee reviewed details regarding outstanding rent payments by various government entities occupying the Ministry of Housing and Works’ properties.

The law ministry has been directed by the Prime Minister’s Office to finalise a rental agreement for the Federal Lodge at Wafaqi Colony, Lahore and clear pending dues amounting to Rs67.71 million for the period February 13, 2021 to October 31, 2025.

The committee chairman directed that, “after three months, the ministry must report back whether the rent has been paid and the new agreement has been executed as per the orders of the prime minister. If compliance is not ensured, the premises shall be evacuated.”

Regarding Punjab Police’s illegal set up of a police station on residential property in Wafaqi Colony, Dhana Singh Wala, Lahore, the chairman further instructed the ministry to produce a letter of evacuation issued to the concerned department.

Furthermore the committee was informed that under the federal cabinet’s decision of September 6, 2024, a total of 3,178 maintenance staff employees of the Pak-PWD were transferred to various departments.

Of these, 1,468 employees transferred to CDA have been paid salaries up to September 30, 2025; moreover 968 employees with the Estate Office and 95 with the defence ministry are receiving salaries without interruption. The remaining 647 employees, whose transfer process is still ongoing — have been paid up to June 30, 2025 by Pak-PWD.

The Ministry of Housing and Works has convened meetings with relevant stakeholders to finalise the transfer of pensions, G.P. Fund, and gratuity cases. It was decided that these would be processed phase-wise, prioritising retirees and those due to retire by December 31, 2025.

The FGEHA director general briefed the committee on the auction and lease policy for commercial plots in sectors G-13 and G-14. He informed the committee that all auction results remain subject to approval by the FGEHA Executive Board, which reserved the right to reject any bid or withdraw any plot without reason.

The committee was also informed that the FGEHA Executive Board, in its 38th meeting held on February 3, approved the government-to-government (G2G) joint venture-cum-lease arrangement with the defence ministry for fuel station plot No. 1, measuring 2,224.9 square yards in Mauve Area, G-13/1, Islamabad.

In return, the defence ministry has undertaken to develop a 15-kanal greenbelt between sectors G-13 and G-14 as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, ensuring that the area is maintained for beautification and public use.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2025