Employees of Senate and former lawmakers have been waiting for the last eight years to get possessions of their plots in Employees Cooperative Housing Society, but authorities do not seem in a mood to resolve this issue anytime soon.
The fate of Senate (Secretariat) Employees Cooperative Housing Society, which was established back in 2005 by then Senate chairman, is still hanging in balance as development work had been stopped on the project.
A few months back, a special committee, which was constituted by Senate chairman to examine the affairs of Senate (Sectt) Employees, had directed management of housing society to stop the development work until the matter was decided by the committee.
On the other hand, those employees who applied for plots have been demanding for early resumption of development work and possession of plots. The employees feared that further delay in the project would be tantamount to the closure of the project.
Under the agreement between society management and a private firm, it was agreed that the firm would provide 10,000 kanals of consolidated land in Zone V, for which the society would pay Rs540, 000 per kanal, for a total of Rs5.4 billion. But the firm failed to provide the agreed land per agreement.
Soon after the agreement, around 4,000 people applied for plots in the society by paying a total of Rs560 million to the management committee. As many as 500 employees paid at least three membership installments. Currently, the management committee had 825 kanals of cleared land in their possession. According to the society’s chairman Dildar Fani, after the resumption of the work all those who paid three installments of the plots would be given possessions of plots.
“I agreed that a number of low grade employees dream of personal plots/houses in Islamabad and have been waiting for the last eight years to get possession of their plots. Let me assure you that once work is started on the project, all eligible people would be given plots within six months time,” Fani said.
Furthermore, Fani said that after taking charge of the society, his team worked hard to get possession of the land. He said that currently the mentioned society had 825 kanals cleared land, which was enough for 460 people, who have either paid full payment or at least three installments.
Since 2007, the society had gone through as many as five administrative committees, each blaming the others for embezzlement. Moreover, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also conducted an inquiry into the matter.
The special committee of senate comprised of four members, including Senator Fateh Muhammad Hassani, Senator Col (r) Tahir Mushhadi, Senator Zafar Shah and Senator Ilyas Bilour.