Govt repossesses K-P resthouses

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has reversed its decision to lease out public resthouses to the private sector, approving the return of all such lodgings to their respective departments.

PTI Founder Imran Khan had previously directed that government resthouses, including the Chief Minister House and Governor House at tourist sites, be leased to enhance public access and boost the province's revenue.

Following this directive, the provincial government initially approved the outsourcing of all government rest houses.

According to a document presented by the provincial government in the assembly, a total of 169 rest houses were leased to the private sector, of which 59 have already been returned to their original departments.

The Tourism Department leased only 17 out of 110 rest houses to the private sector for a period of 15 years.

Opposition member Rehana Ismail called for the matter to be sent to the standing committee for inquiry, to which K-P Law Minister Aftab Alam responded. He stated that the government had outsourced the resthouses through open bidding to increase provincial revenue.