Plan afoot to vacate houses under adverse occupation

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Housing and Works is planning to vacate government houses and quarters in the federal capital which have been under adverse occupation.

Hundreds of houses and quarters are under the illegal occupation of retired government servants and their relatives, who have also carried out extension work in government houses without the approval of the authorities concerned.

Sources in the Estate Office said that on the directives of Minister for Housing and Works Maulana Abdul Wasay, a plan was being devised to vacate the government houses from the illegal occupants including retired employees and their relatives.

The sources said that all-out efforts will be made to address accommodation issues of serving government employees, who have been on the waiting list for the last several years.

Assistance from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Estate Office has also been sought to vacate the houses, they said. The ministry, they said, was considering legal action against encroachments and illegal constructions in government residences in the federal capital.

“Strict action would be taken against the construction of extra rooms by the employees and their kith and kin, who had been living in government allotted houses, the sources said.

At present, the sources said, over 17,000 government houses in Islamabad were under the management of the Estate Office and additional rooms had illegally been constructed by the allottees in over 2,400 residences.

The basic purpose of the operation is to purge government residences of illegal occupation and encroachments, the sources said.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2022.