Right to information: Of all rest houses in Punjab, not one for CM

Office says no budget set aside or expenses made on such facilities

LAHORE: While there are a large number of official rest houses owned by different departments across Punjab, there are apparently none of them reserved for the chief minister’s use.

The information has been shared by the CM Office in response to an application seeking details about the rest houses of different departments situated in the province.

No budget has been set aside nor any expenses made during the ongoing financial year for such a facility, the CM Office stated in its response to a notice issued by the Punjab Information Commission (PIC).

The PIC issued the notice after officials at the CM Office did not provide details to a citizen, who had sought information on such rest houses, their budget allocations and the expenditures at each of these facilities during the 2015-16 fiscal.

Access denied

The petitioner, Zahid Abdullah from Islamabad, filed the complaint with the PIC against the CM’s personal secretary for not sharing details of the rest houses in the province. He contended the CM Office was a public body and was bound to provide information on people’s request under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013. This law was enacted to ensure transparency, accountability and public participation in governance.

Zahid submitted an application to PIC and attached a copy of the documents he had sent to the CM Office. He requested the PIC to issue directives to the office to provide him the details.

However, even the details provided to the PIC by the CM Office failed to provide any answers to the applicant.

Unintentional mistake

Speaking to The Express Tribune, the applicant said he might have made a mistake in specifying the nature of information he was seeking through his application. Zahid said he wanted details about the rest houses of various departments all over the province and not specifically those intended for the CM. He added he would file the application once again after making the correction.

Who has what?

The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) has seven rest houses labelled as ‘residential resorts’ across Punjab. These resorts provide accommodation facilities to the staff as well as public at Kallar Kahar, Jallo Park, Changa Manga, Lal Sohanra, Fort Munroa, Nankana Sahib and Kot Mithan.

The TDCP also has seven ‘stopovers’ at different locations, including Murree Expressway, Chrrapani, Ghora Gali, Salgran, Kharian in Gujrat, Chiniot and Sakhi Sarwar.

The stopovers include facilities of restaurants, kitchens, barbeque areas as well as parking spots. Some of these resorts have party halls, play area for children and mosques.

The Punjab Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries Department runs 39 rest houses in different areas of the province. Some of the facilities are located in Chak Jabbi and Sumbal Pani in Attock, Attock Khurd, Akhori Attock, Lal Suhanra in Bahawalpur, Kallar Kahar in Chakwal, Thaati in Talagang, Fort Munro in DG Khan, Gatwala in Faisalabad, Daphar in Gujrat, Shorkot, Lehri and Tilla Jogian in Jhelum, Changa Manga, Pirowal in Khanewal, Dandewala in Sahiwal and Pipli Pahar in Okara.

There are many such rest houses of the Punjab Irrigation Department that are used by its officers for field visits.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2016.