Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A mega corruption scandal in the Ministry of Housing and Works has come to the surface as the federal government has illegally allotted 236 precious plots worth of billions of rupees to top bureaucracy. The sources told Daily Times that some 30 clerics and religious leaders have not only grabbed state owned houses in the federal capital Islamabad but also took stay orders from the courts of law against vacation of these houses.

A report was put up in Public Accounts Committee which revealed that during the regime of PPP, then Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani under assistance package had ordered to allot costly plots to 22 federal secretaries in the posh sectors of Islamabad, which cost Rs 3.12 billion, whereas these top bureaucrats had already taken several plots from CDA as well as different provincial governments. These plots were given to some of those officers who did not apply for the plots at that time.

The report also showed that corruption was committed in the auction of commercial plots in the lavish sector G-13 at throwaway price which caused a big setback to the national exchequer, whereas in G-14 some 11 plots were allotted in an illicit manner regarding which a probe has been started.

The committee was told that the Ministry of Housing had confiscated some expensive state land at K.N. Senior Road Karachi, where petrol pumps were established. The land owned by Ministry of Housing situated at busy market of Lahore was captured by some influential land grabbers.