Office space shortages: Rs50m monthly rent being paid by 13 govt offices

Another 17 offices working in other govt buildings, new blocks to be ready by 2015.

ISLAMABAD:

Some 13 government ministries and divisions are using rented buildings and paying Rs 50 million per month as rent. Apart from this years-old practice, another 17 government offices are housed in other ministries’ buildings.

Space constraints at the Pak Secretariat are a long-standing problem, while the government has yet to come up with a plan to accommodate departments in ‘temporary homes’.

Documents available with The Express Tribune show that the 13 offices using rental properties are running their functions from rented buildings, paying a total of roughly Rs50 million per month for a total of 29,731 square yards (24,859 square metres) of office space.

The aviation division, textile, privatisation, strategic export control division, narcotics division, information and broadcasting, the Interprovincial Coordination Division’s sports board; the National Food Security and Research division, Overseas Pakistanis and the Human Resource Development Division; Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Science and Technology and National Food Security and Research are currently in rented buildings.

The Ministry of Information Technology has been occupying 3,502 square yards in the Evacuee Trust building for the years and currently pays Rs3.2 million per month in rent. Work on a building for the Ministry of Science and Technology has been in the works for over eight years, but it remains incomplete. According to a ministry official, only the ‘final touches’ are required, but that would and probably that might also take a year. The ministry pays around Rs 2.5 million in rent for its current office, which it has occupied since 2001. Prior to that, it was operating out of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) building.

A section of the Finance Division is operating in G-8 Markaz, the office of Pakistan Public Administration Research Centre is situated in Rafi Centre G-7/1, while the Ministry of Culture’s sub-office is situated in Green Trust Tower. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has rented a 6,219 square yard (5,200 square metre) office in Melody Market, which is the largest rented government office in the capital.

Meanwhile, of the 17 ministries and divisions operating out of other ministries’ offices, the IPC ministry is functioning in the Cabinet Block, Ministry of Ports and Shipping is being run in Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat, and the Overseas Pakistanis Ministry has its office in the Pakistan Manpower Institute building.

In 2009, the government started construction work on three new blocks — T, U, and V on Constitution Avenue near Kohsar Complex. Blocks A through S are already chock-a-block.

According to a Housing and Works official who was not authorised to comment, the new secretariat blocks are now complete and they have received requests from 30 ministries, divisions and other applicants for office space in the new block. “We are planning to shift offices using rented buildings to the new blocks by June 2015,” he remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2014.