ISLAMABAD: Director General Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) Captain (retired) Muhammad Zafar Iqbal on Monday informed the committee that the housing authority had launched 12 housing and apartment projects from 2001 to 2023, under which an amount of Rs. 56 billion had been collected so far.
During a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works held here under the chairmanship of Haji Hidayatullah Khan, the DG clarified that allocations had been made from those candidates who qualified for the relevant schemes. However, he said, the Thallian Housing Scheme has been discontinued due to land-related issues,
and those who were allocated the plots, would be accommodated in the upcoming schemes according to the established criteria. The chairman of the body while raising concerns over delay in the projects asked investigation into this matter.
Additionally, the chairperson requested the information regarding the financial and tangible advantages associated with the allotted plots. The officials from the Ministry of Housing and Works clarified that the delay in the projects stemmed from technical issues. One of the reason for the postponement of the two-day auction of class-III commercial plots in sector G-13/G-14 and the fuel station plot in the Mauve Area is that a writ petition was filed by Quaid-e-Azam University (Q.A.U), claiming a share in the sale proceeds from the auction of commercial plots in G-14/4 and the Mauve Area.
DG Zafar Iqbal further explained that they were compliant with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and were persistent in expediting the auction before Ramazan, but they were given two options either to dispose of this case or to give sufficient time to the university.
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It was reported that G-14/1 and G-14/2 and G-14/3 are partially completed with an approved project cost of Rs. 6127.90 million for G-14/1 and Rs. 1499.43 million for G-14/2 and G-14/3, while G-15/3 is partially completed with 404 plots available for possession, and the approved cost of the project is Rs. 1,453.866 million.
They highlighted that the contract for the land in G-14-1, which is pending, has encountered significant Build up Property resulting in the cancellation of plots. However, they noted that 50 Kanal (1 percent) of G-14-1 has been cleared. Furthermore, they emphasized that G-14 has been allotted to the federal government, and the G-15 residential area has been reserved for the affectees. Additionally, they mentioned that the cost of planning and development has been levied on the affectees.
The committee members were provided record of Chaklala Heights, including its layout plan and details of consultant hiring and their current status. The DG FGEHA expressed that Chaklala is not a lucrative site, and its rates have also risen after COVID-19.
The chairman of the committee also inquired about the job quota, deputation rules, and the status of employees in FGEHA. Additionally, he also asked about the actions taken against officials involved in violating prescribed job quota. Senators Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Fida Muhammad, Khalida Ateeb, Saifullah Abro, Molana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Afnan Ullah Khan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Works, DG FGEHA, and the senior officials from the Ministry of Housing and Works also participated in the meeting.
