Ministry of Housing and Works has granted three-month extension to some powerful former federal ministers, state ministers and advisors to stay at the luxurious state bungalows inside Ministers' Enclave.
The ministers who are still occupying the official residences despite no official portfolio include former Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Farzana Raja and Advisor to Prime Minister Salman Farooqui, an official source told Business Recorder.
Under the law, federal ministers, state ministers, special assistants, advisers to the prime minister are bound to vacate their official residence within 15 days of relinquishing the charge of their respective offices. An official of Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD) sarcastically remarked: "It seems some of them [ministers] feel more secure here while enjoying the lovely landscape of the ministers' enclave but they will have to vacate the residences sooner or later".
He said that the housing ministry has granted extension to the ministers on the condition that they would pay monthly rent as per current market rate from April 2, 2013 onwards. The official said that monthly official house rent of an official residence at ministers' enclave is Rs 1,030,000 for a minister, adviser or official. When asked he stated that he was not aware of what the market rate was, however, sources told this scribe that it is considerably high.