RTI Response Raises Fresh Questions Over Sports Directorate Hostel, Rent and VIP Rooms

 

KikxNow , Digital Creator

Peshawar: A response provided by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate under the Right to Information Act 2013 has raised more questions than it answers about the use of rooms at the department’s hostel, the rent being charged to occupants, and the status of VIP rooms.

Journalist Musarrat Ullah Jan submitted an RTI request on September 15, 2025, seeking detailed information about VIP rooms, officials and other occupants living in the hostel, rent collection, house rent deductions, room-allotment policy, expenditure on repairs and maintenance, and utility bills.

In a letter dated July 6, 2026, bearing reference number 17/RTI/2026, the Deputy Director and Public Information Officer stated that there was no VIP room in the Directorate General Sports hostel.

The department further stated that only one Directorate official was currently residing in the male hostel on a temporary basis.

However, according to the official response, four people belonging to other departments were also residing in the hostel on rent. The department said they were being charged between Rs10,000 and Rs30,000 per month, depending on the size of the room.

This is where a major question arises.

According to documentary material available in connection with the matter, former Director General Sports Tashfeen Haider had issued an order fixing the monthly rent at Rs30,000.

If Rs30,000 was officially fixed as the monthly rent, then the department needs to explain the basis on which some occupants are now reportedly paying only Rs10,000 per month.

Who authorised the Rs10,000 rent?

Was a new notification or order issued after the Rs30,000 rent order?

If a revised rent structure exists, why was its copy not provided in response to the RTI request?

And if no revised order exists, under whose authority is rent of Rs10,000 per month being collected?

These questions are particularly important because the RTI request specifically sought complete information about rent and related records.

The department has confirmed the presence of four people from other departments but has not provided, in the response cited here, their names, designations, parent departments, room numbers, dates of occupation and the exact rent being paid by each individual.

If government hostel rooms are being allotted to officials or employees of departments other than Sports, the basis of those allotments also requires clarification.

Under which policy were these rooms allotted?

Who approved the allotments?

Are formal allotment orders available for each occupant?

Is the rent being deposited regularly into the government account?

The RTI application also sought information about expenditure on repairs and maintenance of the rooms during the previous five years, the official policy or notification governing room allotments, and details of anyone who had occupied rooms without paying rent or in violation of applicable rules.

In response to questions 7, 8 and 9, however, the department simply stated "Not Applicable."

That response itself requires clarification.

If there are no VIP rooms, what is the official classification of the rooms being used?

If rooms have been allotted under government rules, where are the allotment records?

If repairs and maintenance were carried out during the previous five years, where is the expenditure record?

And if the department maintains no such records, it should clearly state that the records are unavailable or were not maintained rather than simply marking the questions as "Not Applicable."

The department also stated that athletes and officials are provided free accommodation during sports activities and competitions. It further said that gas is not available in the rooms and is supplied only to the hostel kitchen.

The central issue, therefore, is not simply whether people are living in the hostel.

The bigger question is under what rules and official orders are government hostel rooms being allotted, how is rent being fixed, and how is that rent being collected?

Most importantly, the apparent difference between the Rs30,000 monthly rent fixed under the former DG's order and the department's current statement that rent ranges from Rs10,000 to Rs30,000 needs to be documented and explained.

The RTI response does not appear to provide the complete documentary trail necessary to independently verify these matters.

The next step should therefore be to obtain the original room-allotment orders, rent-fixing orders, any subsequent revised rent notification, occupant-wise rent collection record, hostel register and complete list of current occupants.

Until those documents are placed on record, several important questions surrounding the use and rental of the Sports Directorate hostel remain unanswered.

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