More than 27,000 government employees, currently working in Islamabad, are awaiting allotment of official residences, records obtained from the Ministry of Housing and Works (MoH&W) showed.
According to survey, the employees are living in the rented houses, and bearing the brunt of the chronic shortage of official accommodations in the federal capital.
“At the present, 29,000 federal government employees have been residing in the government residences,” an official source told media.
The number of applicants are growing every year, the source added. He informed that concentrated efforts were being made at the governmental level since the country is faced with a shortfall of about 9-10 million housing units.
The official pointed out that no new official accommodations were built since 1995 as a ban was imposed on new construction by the then federal cabinet.
Sharing the ministry’s endeavors for streamlining the allotment process, he said the MoH&W had compiled the necessary data on its website to ensure a transparent allotment process.
Details including the status of allotment as well as the name of allottees and their departments are now available on the website and can be accessed anytime, he added.
Regarding the maintenance of the accommodations, he said the federal government had allocated special funds for repair maintenance of 2,163 houses and flats (Cat-I to VI).
He said the Ministry was entrusted to carry out the maintenance work, adding that minor repairing was being carried out through the inquiry office, which would be completed within 15 days through a contract.
