January 29, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 28, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 28: The City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, on Saturday said it was not a good policy to sell city government land to meet expenses for its uplift projects. Addressing a meeting of officers of the city government’s Revenue Department, he said that expenses of city government in the past were met by selling its lands on a monthly basis.

But he had discarded that policy and had not sold even an inch of city government land during the last three months, he said.

He asked the justification of running an entire revenue department if sale of land was to be made a source of revenue-generation. “If this is meant then this could be easily done by a few persons.”

He said land was an important asset of the city government, and it was not a positive approach to sell one’s assets. He said even if these assets could be sold, this practice could not be continued for long.

He decried that Karachi was providing 68 per cent revenue to the country, but it itself was dependent on aid and grants of provincial and federal governments. He said this situation could not be justified from any aspect.

The nazim said the revenue department could not meet even 50 per cent of its revenue collection target, despite the fact that this target itself was very low.

He said Karachi had many ways and means to generate required revenue and all that was needed were efforts and hard work, and that all problems faced by Karachi could be solved using its own resources itself.

He asked the revenue department officials to meet their recovery targets according to the budget well before time.

He said that if uplift projects were to be stopped due to lack of financial resources, there was no need to run the revenue department.

He said some persons were considering Karachi a ‘conquered city’ and taking steps according to their own ‘sweet will’.

He stressed that all work should be carried out, strictly, as per rules and regulations, and that everyone should discharge his responsibility without failure.

Kamal said the cooperation of towns and union councils regarding collection of taxes by the revenue department was also needed.

He instructed that notices should be issued to parties that had obtained plots through auctions in the past, but had failed to deposit money despite passage of many years.

He said all defaulters of the city government should be strictly dealt with according to rules and regulations.

He said all billboards should be removed from the city at an accelerated pace, adding there was now no distinction between legal and illegal billboards.

He said new computer-coded ones would be installed in the city after the present billboards are removed.

PROBE ORDERED: The City Nazim, Mustafa Kamal, taking serious notice of the commercial use of KWSB land on Sharea Faisal and theft of millions of rupees of electricity and water, on Saturday directed the water board’s MD to initiate an inquiry into the matter forthwith and submit report in this regard.

The nazim, who is also the KWSB’s chairman, had learnt that 15,000 sq-yd land of the water board on Sharea Faisal had been acquired in 1989 for 15 years to establish a club for welfare and social activities of the board’s officers.

Later, the remaining KWSB land was also grabbed and the Sabzazar Lawns (marriage lawns) and the Mela Restaurant were established on it, which are being run commercially.

The KWSB Officers Club was also established on the land and has been used for commercial purpose.

Moreover, the KWSB has been, for the last 15 years, paying electricity and water bills of the marriage lawns, restaurant and the club now amounting to millions of rupees.

On the directives of the city nazim, the KWSB has constituted three inquiry committees, which would conduct inquiries separately into different matters and submit a report within 15 days.

The first committee is headed by Budget Officer Muhammad Nisar with AAA/IAO-II Inamur Rehman and AAO-DMD (F&R) Nizamuddin as its member.

This committee will collect record and details of marriages and other private functions held in the KWSB Officers Club since 1989 onwards; the record of KWSB officers and private memberships of the club; and assess revenue collected there against since 1989 onwards.

It will also check and collect the monthly record of the Sabzazar Lawns and Mela Restaurant regarding marriages and functions held since their establishment and asses the revenue collected.

The RE-P&F-II, KII, Jamil Ahmed Ansari, is the convener of the second committee with EE-WMD Tariq Latif and AEE-Gulshan Town Syed Mazhar Hussein as its members.

The committee will collect complete record and details of actual load and regular monthly expenditures against electricity charges of the club from 1989 onwards; and electricity consumption and relevant charges on marriage and private functions held in the club from 1989 onwards.

It will also check and identify illegal electricity connections provided to private consumers from the club, if any, and to assess expenditures thereof from 1989 onwards.—PPI