Eligibility depends upon the number of points earned during one’s service.
RAWALPINDI: There has been much talk in the media of army officers getting plots at very cheap rates. I would like to clarify that at the most, one residential plot is allotted to officers on retirement, and this is done only if they become eligible for it. Eligibility depends upon the number of points earned during one’s service and this, in turn, is based on: Length of service; any special award for meritorious service like the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz and so on; war performance, if the individual was wounded or martyred. Also, such residential plots are leased out and the allottee has to pay the government’s fixed price for it initially and then an annual ground rent on it for the duration of the period of the lease.
The belief by some that all those enrolled in the military get two murrabas is inaccurate. I would say less than one per cent of the officers get this and here, too, there is a transparent system in place for one who wants to become eligible to receive it. Furthermore, this eligibility is not confined only to officers but soldiers and those in other ranks can also quality for allotment of such land.
Col (retd) Riaz Jafri
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2012.
