CHITRAL: The increase in perks and privileges of government officials both in the civil beaurocracy and the military beaurocracy has been phenomenal -just in proportion to the amount of loans the country has been taking over the years. Today when the country is edging towards bankruptcy, the ridiculous perks that the officialdom enjoys is ever so annoying. Officials of the beaurocracy reside and enjoy privileges as was in the times of British imperialism.
According to a report published in daily ‘Dawn’ “The Sargodha Commissioner House tops the list of the large bungalows under use of bureaucrats and senior police officers. Spread over 104 kanals, it is the country’s largest government residence. Thirty-three staff members have been deployed for its maintenance and security.
It is followed by the mansion of the Sahiwal Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) which is spread over 98 kanals. The residences of DCOs of Mianwali and Faisalabad are of 95 and 92 kanals, respectively.
Millions are spent annually on the maintenance and security of the government residences spread over an area of 2,600 kanals across Punjab alone. While almost 30,000 government and private employees have been deployed at these residences all the expenses are borne by the government.
Total area of official residences of just seven DIGs and 32 SSPs is 860 kanals.
According to details, the Gujranwala DIG’s residence is spread over 70 kanals followed by the Sargodha DIG (40 kanals), Rawalpindi DIG, Faisalabad DIG and Dera Ghazi Khan DIG (20 kanals each), Multan DIG 18 kanals and Lahore DIG (15 kanals).
The Mianwali SSP has the largest residence among the SSPs with an area of 70 kanals, followed by Rajanpur SSP (37 kanals), Sheikhupura and Bahawalnagar SSPs (32 kanals each), Attock SSP (29 kanals), Gujranwala SSP (25 kanals), Rahim Yar Khan SSP (22 kanals), Vehari and Kasur SSPs (20 kanals each), Jhang SSP (18 kanals), Khanewal and Bahawalpur SSPs (15 kanals each), Pakpattan SSP (14 kanals), Multan SSP (13 kanals), Hafizabad, Chakwal and Narowal SSPs (10 kanals each), Sialkot SSP (nine kanals), Gujarat and Bhakkar SSPs (eight kanals each), Layyah, Jhelum and Khushab SSPs (six kanals each) and Toba Tek Singh and Rawalpindi SSPs (five kanals each).”
The above mentioned figures quoted from the newspaper are just some examples of the ‘kharmastian’ our country is being subjected to. The privileges of the armed forces officers and the judiciary are no less. Offices have bloated from small functional rooms to huge and profusely furnished ones -all at what cost? No need to mention that again and again.
A federal minister has asked the nation to have one cup of tea a day. All well, but what about the battalion of fuel guzzling vehicles, the servants, the perks of officials. Should they not be reduced to a quarter before asking the people to have only one cup of tea a day.
The poor of Pakistan have given enough of sacrifices. It is now the turn of the government, the armed forces and the judiciary to show us what they can do by way of sacrifice to arrest the impending bankruptcy due to their ill planning, corruption and ‘shah kharchi’. .. CN report, 18 June 2022
2 thoughts on “Demand for withdrawal of perks and privileges of officials, increasing by the day”
An eye-opening post. Very relevant to present day Pakistan. Well done Chitral News.
The demand to withdraw the perks and privileges of the civil and military beaurocracy, Ministers and parliamentarians is very genuine and this will reduce a substantial burden on the national exchequer. Scapegoating the poor must be stopped now.