KARACHI, May 13: The fate of the government-run Darul Aman, which was handed over to a non-governmental organization some time back, hangs in the balance as the newly inducted Sindh minister for social welfare has expressed her reservations over the decision and hinted at finding out as to why and how a government asset had been given to the private sector, it has been learnt.

The NGO, Panah, which had been given the charge of Darul Aman, however, claimed that the institution had been handed over to it by the city government and it had nothing to do with the minister or her provincial social welfare department.

The Sindh Social Welfare Minister, Nargis Khan, said at a meeting held a couple of days ago that soon after taking over the charge of the department she came to know that various government buildings, including the Darul Aman, had been handed over to various private parties or NGOs.

The minister said that she felt that it was the responsibility of the government to look after the helpless people and that she would look into the matter and find out as to why Darul Aman had been handed over to an NGO, and if it was not being maintained properly by the government then why nothing was done to improve the situation.

Talking to Dawn, the minister said that she had sought the details of the agreement under which the institution had been handed over to the NGO.

Ms Khan said that she also intended to visit Darul Aman to ascertain the overall situation herself and to see whether the condition of Darul Aman had improved or not.

The minister also plans a meeting with the NGO to discuss the matter before coming up with a final decision on the issue.

She said that there were a lot of issues, which according to her, could only be solved when the government and civil society organisations sincerely worked together.

The administrator of Panah, the NGO currently running a shelter home on the premises of Ida Rieu School for Blind and Deaf at Old Numaish on M. A. Jinnah Road, told Dawn that the social welfare department, or its minister, had nothing to do with Darul Aman.

She said that the city government had handed over Darul Aman to Panah and an agreement to this effect had been signed by the executive district officer of the city government’s community development department, Rehana Saif, and retired Justice Majida Rizvi of Panah at the Governor’s House in December 2007.

She said that the Darul Aman building was in dilapidated condition with collapsing boundary walls, leaking ceiling, seepage from bathroom pipes, broken window panes, etc and required repairs and Panah intended to spend approximately Rs10 million to carry out the repair works in the next six months.

She told Dawn that as many as 13 inmates of Darul Aman, who had been living there for a long time, were provided with legal aid by Panah and they had left for their homes.

She said that earlier the conditions at Darul Aman were so bad that the inmates at different times had tried to escape.

The administrator said that after the repair works, the Panah shelter home would be moved to Darul Aman and the present premises would be returned to Ida Rieu.

Sources told Dawn that Ida Rieu had given its Old People’s Home building to Panah in 2002. They added that initially it was given for two years and later they allowed Panah’s extended stay there, but eventually lost patience. The court was moved and it ordered that the premises be vacated, and when Panah moved to Darul Aman, the building would be vacated and returned to Ida Rieu.

However, with a new twist to the issue and intentions of the social welfare minister to review the decision of the handing over of Darul Aman to Panah, the future of the entire exercise has become uncertain.

If the Darul Aman building is taken back from Panah, then the NGO that provides shelter to the helpless women itself would be left with no shelter. Besides, Ida Rieu, which hoped that its premises would eventually be vacated, would also continue to suffer.