RAWALPINDI: In an unprecedented move involving a federal utility, the District Rent Assessment Committee (DRAC) and the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) have declared the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) a defaulter, determining that it owes nearly Rs1 billion in unpaid rent for the use of municipal properties in Rawalpindi.
On the directives of the Rawalpindi commissioner and administrator, IESCO has been served a notice to clear the outstanding dues within 15 days for its continued occupation of 11 commercial properties owned by the municipal corporation over the past 65 years.
Officials said the properties have been under IESCO’s use since January 1, 1961, without any formal rent agreement or payment. A joint assessment carried out by DRAC and RMC calculated the arrears from January 1961 to November 2025, based on a rate of Rs2.5 per square foot with a 10 per cent annual increase.
In a formal letter issued to the IESCO Chief Executive Officer by Administrator RMC and Commissioner Rawalpindi Engineer Aamir Khattak, the utility was directed to deposit Rs1 billion into the municipal fund within the stipulated 15-day period.
The properties in question include offices, flats and a petrol pump located at Rehmanabad SDO Construction Camp, Asghar Mall complaint office, Chandni Chowk XEN RO office, Satellite Town B Block complaint office, Saidpur Road flats, Satellite Town Wapda Foundation petrol pump, Asghar Mall subdivision complaint office, Ganj Mandi subdivision complaint office, Ghazni Road Safdarabad SDO office, City Subdivision complaint office in Ganj Mandi, and the Committee Chowk subdivision office.
Chief Officer RMC Imran Ali said the corporation would not only recover the accumulated arrears but would also enter into a fresh rent agreement with IESCO to ensure regular monthly rent payments in the future.
He added that clear instructions had been received from the Punjab government and that the recovery process had formally commenced under the supervision of the Rawalpindi commissioner.
Story by Jamil Mirza
