ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has raised objections over allotment of government accommodations to officials of Ministry of Housing & Works including Amir Mohiuddin in a posh sector of Islamabad.
According to documents exclusively available with Pakistan Today, the AGP in its audit report 2021-22 pointed out that the Ministry of Housing & Works had allotted government accommodations to its officials in violation of rules. Â
Rule 3(5) of the accommodation allocation rules, 2002 states that a federal government servant who owns a house in his own name or in the name of his spouse or dependent children at the station of his posting shall not be allowed government accommodation and shall be allowed self-hiring of the house.
Joint Secretary (Estate) Amir Mohuddin, an officer of BPS-20 of Secretariat Group was allotted a government-owned accommodation, House No 13/A, Street No 31, F8/1 Islamabad, with effect from August 30, 2019.
Further, Deputy Secretary (Estate), an officer of BPS-19 of Ministry of H&W is the owner of House No 243, Street No 13, Black-B, CBR Town Islamabad, but he was allotted a government-owned accommodation House No F-27, Cat-II, G10/3 Islamabad with effect from 21/01/2021.
The Audit observed that records such as general waiting list approval of competent authority relating to allotment of House No 14-B, Street 27, F-8/1 Islamabad and House No F-27, Cat-II G-10/3 Islamabad were not provided to the audit.
Audit further observed that allotment of government accommodation to government officer who own a house in his own name at the station of his posting where he was residing on self-hiring basis was authorized in terms of rules 3(5) of the accommodation allocation rules, 2022.
Similarly, Audit also pointed out the non-transparent allotment of government accommodation to Joint Secretary ministry of Housing Muhammad Yaseen Shar Baloch, Ministry of Housing as the ministry in 2019 changed his residential accommodation from I-8/1 to F6/3 Islamabad.Â
Audit observed that the allotment letter for House No 19, Cat-II, I-8/1 was not available to the Ministry of Housing. In addition, the audit viewed that allotment of government accommodation to an officer in January 2019 or even before being posted from Karachi to Islamabad on 2/5/2018 in the absence of allotment letters as well as general waiting list was irregular.
When contacted, former Joint Secretary of Housing Ministry and incumbent CEO PHA Foundation Amir Mohiuddin said that this is an official matter to be responded to at the Departmental Accounts Committee and PAC levels.
