LAHORE, Jan 24: Nazim Mian Javed Ali has transferred the whole staff of the regulation branch of Samanabad Town despite a stay order granted by a labour court.

The step has been taken on the recommendations of a committee, recently constituted to monitor the working of town’s regulation branch or tehbazari amla, responsible for removal of encroachments and ejection of cattle from the jurisdiction of a local body, sources said on Wednesday.

Assistant Superintendent Land (ASL) Rao Munawwar and driver M. Shafiq were asked to report to the infrastructure and services wing while Tehbazari Raid Inspector (TRI) Khwaja Shahbaz and storekeeper Saleh Younas were sent to the general branch two days ago and replaced by general branch’s junior clerk Tauqeer Rathore as ASL and Rashid Shah the TRI.

The transferred employees moved a labour court that stayed their transfer on Tuesday.

Town Municipal Officer Sultan Khan and Town Officer (Regulations) Usman Liaquat Bhinder asked the officials to resume their duties as usual when they presented the stay orders to them on Wednesday morning.

Raid clerk Javed Shakir also got his transfer order around noon when regulation committee chairman Shakeel Pasha along with town members Mushtaq Wagi and Chaudhry Khalid called on Mian Javed Ali and “forced him to implement the recommendations in letter and spirit” and also post Saeed Shah as storekeeper, the sources said.

“The Town Nazim called the TO (Regulations) and asked him to hand over the keys of the store and the two trucks to newly posted officials in the presence of Mr Pasha, Mr Chaudhry and Mr Wagi,” they added.

Under the Local Body Ordinance 2002, the monitoring committees could merely submit recommendations to improve the working of the local body branch concerned.

“The monitoring committees cannot ask for action against any official, especially in the absence of any complaint of serious nature along with documentary or circumstantial proofs,” they maintained.

The transferred officials, the sources said, had been instrumental in making the Samanabad Main Road a no-parking area that annoyed car dealers.