ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: Federal Minister for Housing and Works Syed Safwanullah has sought special powers and quota for out of turn allotment of government houses , a source in the housing ministry told Dawn on Wednesday.

The source said the ministry had sent a summary to the Prime Minister Secretariat in this regard but the secretariat was reluctant to give the minister such powers.

"Under Section 29-A of Allotment and Accommodation Rules (AAR), only the prime minister can allot official accommodation to a government employee out of turn," the source said.

According to the data collected from Estate Office, Islamabad, over 58,000 government employees are waiting for official accommodation. A large number of these government employees are waiting for official accommodation for over 20 years and many of them have died, the data showed.

The data also showed that a total of 125,000 employees were working in different departments of the federal government and only 25,000 government houses were available in the capital. The data showed that more than 20,000 employees were residing in hired houses, while more than 58,000 were living in rented houses.

The source said before the promulgation of Allotment and Accommodation Rules that came into force on October 30, 2002, the minister for housing and works had special quota for allotment of government houses.

The ministry has also sought revival of rule 16/14 of allotment rules under which allotment of a government accommodation is transferred in the name of serving children of a retiring government employee, the source said.

"Until the matter is decided by the Secretariat, the housing minister can give extension in the allotment of government houses to the retired employees occupying government accommodation," the source said.