Governor House renovation: In an age of austerity, G-B indulges itself

G-B Governor feels current state of property is below his ‘dignity’.

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government is planning to spend approximately Rs120 million on the renovation of the G-B Governor House to bring it on par with the ‘dignity’ of governor Pir Karam Ali Shah, sources revealed on Thursday.

“The House will be redesigned and reconstructed as per president’s orders,” an official said on the condition that his name will not be revealed. “The expected expenses are around Rs120 million,” the source said.

The renovation plan would be the second one in two years for the G-B Governor House if all goes as planned. The last one which took place hardly two years ago at a cost of Rs20 million will now be taken apart before it is reconstructed on the new design. Dr Shamma Khalid, the first governor of G-B, resided in the governor house for nearly six months until her death in 2010.

The renovation plan has been officially approved by G-B Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah who termed the existing structure below his dignity.

“More property is also being acquired to enlarge the House,” said another source, adding that the existing property runs over 9000 square yards.

The Public Works Department (PWD) will carry out the project in Gilgit amidst threats by government contractors to halt ongoing projects if the government fails to pay their outstanding dues worth over Rs500 million.

A week ago, the G-B government spent over Rs30 million on the visit of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, dealing a further blow to its weak economy trailing under the burden of regional government protocols.

According to PML-N Gilgit-Baltistan President Hafizur Rehman, the actions of the present G-B government were bizarre since its expenditures on the non-development sector at 80% surpassed its spending on the development sector at 20%.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2011.