Senate panel orders eviction of illegal occupants from Ministers’ Enclave

“If law cannot be imposed in an area with only 40 houses, how can it be enforced in the rest of the country?”

ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works has directed to evict all blue-eyed officials living in the Ministers' Enclave on Friday.

The committee further instructed the related authorities to resolve all the matters related to paying off affectees and building properties and submit a report after four months.

The committee meeting chaired by Senator Mir Kabir Ahmed Muhammad Shahi was held at Parliament House on Saturday.

The committee chairman said that the residences in the enclave were entitled only to the ministers or equivalent officials, adding that a large number of officials had occupied them illegally.

He recalled that the committee was assured three months ago that such residents would be evicted but no action was taken thus far. Shahi questioned, “If the law cannot be imposed in the minister’s enclave consisting only 40 houses, how can it be enforced in the rest of the country?”

He expressed that the non-eviction of the illegal occupants reinforced the impression of bias.

Highlighting the discrepancy, the chairman questioned how the Parliamentary Secretary Tashfeen Safdar was living in the enclave.  The Additional Secretary Housing responded that they would fix everything till the next meeting and would evict all those living unrightfully.

The committee ordered to submit a report within a month after forcing out all the illegal occupants.

Further, the committee discussed the matter of affectees of different sectors during which the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) CEO Waseem Hayat Bajwa informed that they had recently appointed a land acquisition collector while the survey of Sector G-14/1 had begun. He said that Rs7 billion was the outstanding amount needed to be paid off for which they were auctioning plots.

Bajwa apprised that allotment of plots for Sector G-15/3 affectees was yet to be done while the payments of built-up properties were still to be cleared.

Talking about affectees of Sector G-14/1, he said that only 580 plots were legal in the sector while around 300 of them were occupied and they faced strong resistance when an action against them was launched.

Bajwa added that they had paid Rs4 million to affectees of Sector G-14 after which the committee directed to submit a report within a month after resolving all the matters.

The committee was informed that around 1,500 plots collectively have been evacuated from illegal occupants.

The government has conceded that no money whatsoever had been paid to the affectees of Sector G-14/1 as compensation for their built-up property.

FGEHF had charged allottees for the cost built-up property and development charges.

However, the foundation did not take any development charges from the allottees of Sector G-14/1 because no development work was being carried out in the sub-sector.

Furthermore, no amount whatsoever had been paid to the affectees of the sub-sector as compensation for BUP.

According to the housing foundation, major areas of Mauza Chalow and Mauza Jhangi Syedian lie in sub-sector G-14/1 and affectees of the sub-sector had been paid compensation regarding the cost of land as per their Mauzas, not sub-sector wise. Compensation to affectees was made through the Islamabad Land Acquisition Collector (LAC).

In this regard, the housing ministry maintains that the foundation had already paid the LAC and that 80 per cent of affectees have received compensation for the cost of their land. The remaining 20 per cent of affectees could not be compensated due to their own land disputes which are pending in courts.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2019.