Revenue generation: Rents of govt properties to be rationalised

Responsibility of renovation, repair to reside with tenants

PESHAWAR: The district government proposed to rationalise rents of properties in parts of the city to bring them at par with market rates and generate revenue. The rents have not been increased for the last two decades.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting held at district government secretariat on Friday.

While talking to The Express Tribune city district nazim Arbab Muhammad Asim, who chaired the moot, said the policy had been approved in the meeting to rationalise rents of properties owned by the city government which had not been done for the last 15-20 years.

“The various decisions taken in the meeting will be tabled in the district council for approval which can then easily be passed from the council,” Asim said.

It was also decided the city district government will decrease the lease duration of properties given on rent to five years. Asim said the lease duration of properties which was 99 years earlier was reduced to 33 years. “Now, we reduced the time to five years.”



Moreover, the responsibility of renovation and repair of properties will now reside with tenants. The administration said action will be taken against those who failed to renovate rented shops.

Asim also said it was also decided that 25 kanals of land of the district government on main GT Road will be used for the construction of commercial buildings and parks so that more revenue could be generated.

“We have also proposed that employees wear uniforms at Peshawar bus stands, proper boundary wall and gates for entrance/exit at stands be constructed and water filtration plants also be set up at them,” he said.

Naib nazim Syed Qasim Ali Shah, coordination director Sahibzada Muhammad Tariq and other district government officials were also present at the meeting.

A handout was also issued in this regard which confirmed the decisions taken at the moot. It added the district nazim issued directives to quarters concerned to conduct surveys in order to identify market rates of properties. The submission deadline for the report is one week.

The document also stated more than 70% of tenants who had registered shops with their names had given it to second parties to charge more rents against officials notified prices. “It was decided during the meeting that directives would be issued to authorities to take action against such shopkeepers who were violating laws,” the handout revealed. However, it added traders in the city will be taken into confidence before action against such tenants.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2016.