Out-of-turn allotment: Bending of rules continues
Housing ministry still not ensuring merit in allocation of govt residences; some wait, others refuse to leave.
ISLAMABAD:
Bureaucrats at the Estate Office, apparently taking cue from the government, are defying the Supreme Court orders in allotment of houses to government employees. The Estate Office is continuing with out-of-turn allotment of residences to government employees.
This time, Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court Registrar Rehman Shah has become the main hurdle by refusing to vacate the house that was actually allotted to an employee of the federal government back in 2007, The Express Tribune learnt.
“Twice the Estate Office tried to get the house vacated from Shah forcefully, but they were forced by some high ups to drop the plan of raid,” a senior official of the Estate Office told The Express Tribune.
A bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry recently directed the Estate Office and the housing secretary Kamran Lashari to ensure fair play in the house allotment process and stop “out-of-turn” allotments. The court also reserved its judgment in this regard in a suo motu case that was taken on the complaint about violations in the process of house allotment.
Rehman Shah retired from his services in 2007 from Law and Justice Commission. Later, he was appointed as Registrar of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Supreme Appellate Court. But he did not vacate his house in I-8/1 sector and he succeeded to get the house allotted in his son’s name, who was on deputation in the Health Ministry.
According to rules, a house cannot be allotted to an officer who is on deputation, the official said.
A district court on June 16 also dismissed the petition of the Registrar Rehman Shah, on this ground. But, the housing ministry officials restrained the Estate Office to get the house vacated from Shah.
Housing secretary Lashari, when approached, admitted that this is not the only case. “There are many other such cases.”
Responding to another question, he said that Rehman Shah had gone to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and after his return the case would be decided.
The official record of the Estate Office shows that rules are being violated by the housing ministry officials in allotment of accommodations.
Ghulam Mustafa, a sub-engineer in Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak PWD), told The Express Tribune that he was waiting for his turn since 2007.
As per record, the ministry had asked the Estate Officer to give possession of the house to Ghulam Mustafa several times but it was proved later that the whole exercise was part of delaying tactics by the high officials of the ministry.
“My brother is working under housing secretary Kamran Lashari, so therefore he was not able to lodge a protest against the apathetic attitude of the ministry,” Ghulam Murtaza said. He said that he directly approached Lashari to resolve the issue but he refused to extend his cooperation in this regard, saying that Chief Justice Gilgit-Baltistan Appellate Supreme Court Nawaz Abbasi restrained him from getting the house vacated from Shah. Lashari told The Express Tribune, “We are updating house allotment mechanism and soon we would able to implement the Supreme Court instructions accordingly. “But the process will take some time,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2011.
Bureaucrats at the Estate Office, apparently taking cue from the government, are defying the Supreme Court orders in allotment of houses to government employees. The Estate Office is continuing with out-of-turn allotment of residences to government employees.
This time, Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court Registrar Rehman Shah has become the main hurdle by refusing to vacate the house that was actually allotted to an employee of the federal government back in 2007, The Express Tribune learnt.
“Twice the Estate Office tried to get the house vacated from Shah forcefully, but they were forced by some high ups to drop the plan of raid,” a senior official of the Estate Office told The Express Tribune.
A bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry recently directed the Estate Office and the housing secretary Kamran Lashari to ensure fair play in the house allotment process and stop “out-of-turn” allotments. The court also reserved its judgment in this regard in a suo motu case that was taken on the complaint about violations in the process of house allotment.
Rehman Shah retired from his services in 2007 from Law and Justice Commission. Later, he was appointed as Registrar of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Supreme Appellate Court. But he did not vacate his house in I-8/1 sector and he succeeded to get the house allotted in his son’s name, who was on deputation in the Health Ministry.
According to rules, a house cannot be allotted to an officer who is on deputation, the official said.
A district court on June 16 also dismissed the petition of the Registrar Rehman Shah, on this ground. But, the housing ministry officials restrained the Estate Office to get the house vacated from Shah.
Housing secretary Lashari, when approached, admitted that this is not the only case. “There are many other such cases.”
Responding to another question, he said that Rehman Shah had gone to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and after his return the case would be decided.
The official record of the Estate Office shows that rules are being violated by the housing ministry officials in allotment of accommodations.
Ghulam Mustafa, a sub-engineer in Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak PWD), told The Express Tribune that he was waiting for his turn since 2007.
As per record, the ministry had asked the Estate Officer to give possession of the house to Ghulam Mustafa several times but it was proved later that the whole exercise was part of delaying tactics by the high officials of the ministry.
“My brother is working under housing secretary Kamran Lashari, so therefore he was not able to lodge a protest against the apathetic attitude of the ministry,” Ghulam Murtaza said. He said that he directly approached Lashari to resolve the issue but he refused to extend his cooperation in this regard, saying that Chief Justice Gilgit-Baltistan Appellate Supreme Court Nawaz Abbasi restrained him from getting the house vacated from Shah. Lashari told The Express Tribune, “We are updating house allotment mechanism and soon we would able to implement the Supreme Court instructions accordingly. “But the process will take some time,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2011.