LAHORE, Feb 27: The change in the government policy to give plots instead of houses to its employees at the time of their retirement is a cause for heartburn for many.

Government officials at the helm of affairs nevertheless say the policy has been changed because it was not economically viable to build houses especially for the employees.

The change in the policy was introduced by amending the Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation Act 2004 in December last year, allowing for the provision of developed plots to the members of the foundation (government employees).

The employees objecting to the change in policy say the scheme was originally aimed at providing free land to them and charging for the houses which the government was to build for them. The scheme was good as the employees were to receive a standard house upon their retirement and major portion of its price was to be deducted through easy installments from their monthly salaries.

Now, they are required to pay the price of the plots which previously were free.

Senior government officials say the plots are still free and the government will only recover development charges from its employees. They say previously the employees were required to pay whatever was spent on the houses, and in majority cases it was beyond the capacity of especially those in lower grades.

Now, they will be able to build their houses according to their financial position, they say, agreeing that this will certainly negate the idea of equal standard residential colonies of the retired employees. — Staff Reporter