ISLAMABAD, March 19: The federal government has a plan to move its employees occupying official residences out in lieu of house rent and use the vacated buildings to raise money for itself.

Preliminary estimate is that the house rent would cost the government between Rs35 billion and Rs40 billion, but the commercial use of the 28,000 government houses across the country is expected to earn it much more.

“The plan is being discussed with the Planning Commission, Finance Ministry, Housing Ministry and the Capital Development Authority,” Secretary Housing Kamran Lashari confirmed to Dawn on Monday.

A one-time 'compensation package' for the affected government employees would be announced in the next fiscal budget, he added.

Asked about the impact that plan would have on the 28,000 government servants of all grades, he noted that they formed only eight per cent of the entire federal bureaucracy.

In Islamabad alone, 17,000 employees will have to leave their government accommodation.

“The plan is a replica of a recently implemented plan of the government under which official cars of government servants were given to them on specific terms and conditions after which they will get monthly transportation allowance but the government will not provide official vehicle to any employee,” he said.

After having house rents (according to their basic pay scale) the government servants will have to have their own accommodation and will get monthly house rent from their parent departments.

The provision of official accommodation always remained a problem for the government and government employees because of shortage of houses.

Under the plan all government houses will be reused and may be sold according to the market value.“We can also construct high-rise buildings and commercial centres in place of existing old government houses,” the secretary said.

Asked will the housing ministry requires any approval from any higher government forum, the secretary said there was no need to have any such approval because the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry were already on the loop.

A source in the housing ministry said the Estate Office might take over the job of real estate trust (RET) to be set up under the ministry.

A source said that the government may face many problems while implementing the plan because government employees could resist the move and might challenge it in courts.

“If implemented, the plan will create another housing backlog in the federal capital because when 17,000 employees will be evicted from official accommodation they will get houses on rent in Islamabad,” the source said.

The official agreed that the plan would also affect one of the old residential Sector G-6, where more than 6,000 government houses are located.

It was also confirmed by the members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet in its meeting on Monday that the housing ministry had also included the government houses in G-6 including 200 flats of the CDA into its monetization plan.

Few years ago the CDA had prepared a plan to give ownership rights to the dwellers of G-6 houses and for this purpose a remodelling plan of the whole sector was made but it could not be implemented.

“Under the plan over 40,000 flats in sector G-6 against existing 4,000 quarters and 2,000 flats were to be constructed,” another source in the housing ministry said.

The government employees residing in sector G-6 have been demanding ownership rights of the official accommodation so that they could renovate these houses by their own.

Majority of government quarters in G-6 Sector wears a dilapidated look due to improper maintenance.