Going digital: Plans afoot to computerise 27,000 housing records

Move would reduce risk of data loss due to fires, theft

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Housing and Works has decided to computerise records for over 27,000 government residences. The move would help address a host of issues such as increasing problems with allotments, illegal possession, and refusal to vacate official housing after retirement.

According to ministry officials, the digitisation will bring an end to the cumbersome process of collating and maintaining hard copies of data which are vulnerable to theft and ‘curious’ fires.

A fire at the Islamabad Estate Office record room in March 2013 destroyed Rs4.5 million worth of equipment, along with files and data, according to a subsequent probe. In 2007, another fire at the Estate Office damaged Rs19.7 million worth of equipment and destroyed files. In both cases, the filed were related to government housing.

Officials at the ministry believe that these ‘curious’ fires are an attempt by a ‘clique’ which does not want graft in the office exposed.

The ministry is planning to develop a comprehensive database for the estate offices in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. The data centre will be set up at the ministry, which in turn has started purchasing equipment and hiring staff, while the necessary tenders were floated on Tuesday, said a ministry official.

Under the computerised system, records will carry the name of the allottee, tenure of service and further details such as grade. “The system will also provide automatic reminders of officials whose allotment term is coming to an end,” said the official.

The system will also list those awaiting housing and will integrate an online housing application system for eligible govt employees, who would also get email and SMS updates on their applications.

According to Housing Additional Secretary Jamil Ahmad, around 28,000 applicants are on waiting lists across the country. “We have started training staff [for the computerised database]. Fear of fire-related data losses will be things of past,” he remarked.

Another official added that the move will also ease headaches for the ministry regarding allotments and eviction as the police and district administration must be involved in these processes at later stages and many a times, they end in squabbles and scuffles.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2015.