KARACHI: Kamal orders recovery of Rs5 billion land revenue
KARACHI, Feb 13: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal directed the revenue department to work in coordination with the town and UC nazims to ensure recovery of Rs5 billion land revenue during the current year.
He said, besides, the recovery of land revenue, the pace of grant of proprietary rights in katchi abadis should also be accelerated.
The nazim issued these directives in a joint meeting of the officials of the revenue department and town nazims on Monday. EDO Finance Roshan Ali Shaikh and EDO Revenue Saleh Farooqi were also present.
The meeting was informed that the katchi abadi department of the city government expected a revenue of Rs2 billion.
It was informed that in KDA Land Revenue, Rs290 million were outstanding, Rs200 million outstanding on account of auctioning of plots, Rs1,800 million on account of renewal of proprietary rights in the KMC areas and Rs1,600 million on account of property tax, to be recovered during the current year.
It was pointed out that the city government did not have the kind of resources which might help recover the dues and as a result failed to meet the recovery targets.
The city nazim said that the ownership rights were being granted to each family for about Rs4,000. He said that after granting ownership rights to the katchi abadis, the department would be closed so that no more katchi abadis came up.
Mr Kamal said that after the issuance of lease, the people living there would be provided basic facilities. He exhorted the officials to work in collaboration with the elected representative as a team and establish camps for the recovery of dues.
The city nazim, however, made it clear that the katchi abadis, set up on drains and amenity plots, would be considered as encroachments and those could not be given ownership rights.
He observed that only 25 per cent of the amount of plots auctioned had been recovered while Rs290 million were outstanding. The nazim said that the defaulters should be served with notices immediately and plots of those failing to deposit the amount on time be cancelled. Challans for Rs200 million were issued last week, he informed.
Mr Kamal warned that officials indulging in wrong doings would not be transferred but would be punished severely.
He asked the town nazims to cooperate in revenue collection and said when the city government would have the resources, only then these would be distributed among the towns. The city nazim also sought the cooperation of the town nazims in checking encroachments.
Road washing: The newly imported machines have started sweeping and washing the city’s major roads.
According to the schedule, Sharea Faisal will be washed on Feb 12-15 from midnight to 5am, Karsaz Road from Karsaz Chowrangi to Time Medico and from there up to Gharibabad Bridge on Feb 13-14 and Shaheed-i-Millat Road on Feb 13-14.
I.I. Chundrigar and adjoining roads of Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Press Club, Sindh Assembly, Sindh Secretariat and Pakistan Chowk areas will be washed on Feb 13-14. These machines will work on other roads on Feb 15.—APP
