June 05, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1429

KARACHI, June 4: The City Council proceedings on Wednesday were marred by noisy protests and disorder as both the treasury and opposition benches traded accusations over a resolution passed on Monday, empowering the city government to receive a garbage collection tax on different categories of houses, flats and plots.

Arguing that the issue was very important and concerned all citizens, opposition members stressed that it needed a thorough debate.

They regretted that on Monday while the opposition members were protesting in the house against the non-release of UC funds, the treasury bulldozed the resolution and hurriedly passed it.

The issue was raised by opposition leader Saeed Ghani of the Awam Dost Panel. He was joined by Ramzan Awan of the Al-Khidmat Group, Dr Ziauddin and several other opposition members.

However, leader of the house Asif Siddiqui of the Haq Parast Panel did not agree with the opposition and said that under the rules of business once a resolution was adopted by the house, it could not be reopened for debate.

He also argued that the resolution had already been debated in the house in its earlier sessions. He rejected the claim that the resolution was passed hurriedly. He also slated the opposition for creating obstructions in the presentation of the mass transit project.

Mr Siddiqui’s speech caused uproar and complete confusion in the house when several members of both sides of the divide stood up and started raising different issues on points of order.

The opposition members defended their role and accused the treasury of “bulldozing every resolution concerning public welfare by bypassing the opposition as has been evident in the past three years.”

The session was being presided over by Nasreen Jalil, who had to repeatedly intervene, advising members of both the treasury and the opposition to maintain the decorum of the house and to respect one another’s views.

She sought the views of the house on the reopening issue but it was rejected by treasury members. Thereupon she ruled that it could not be debated.

The convener took exception to the attitude of the opposition members, saying that they were not interested in running the affairs of the house.

Pandemonium reigned supreme in the house when both the treasury and the opposition traded accusations by delivering aggressive speeches.

Surprisingly, the house business was being carried out without any agenda. The convener of the house tried to calm down both sides, but her repeated appeals fell on deaf ears.

At the outset of the proceedings, Abdul Jalil of the Haq Parast Panel tried to draw the attention of the house to the issue of price hike, affecting the common man. He also raised the issue of water crisis in parts of the city and said the house, instead of wasting time on non-issues, should take up the water supply and contamination issue.

The opposition members reciprocated Mr Jalil’s observations about the city’s problems by thumping of desks, saying that “whatever we have been pleading for, for the last three years have now been vindicated.”

Mr Jalil was joined by two treasury members, Suleman Mujahid Baloch and Arshad Qureshi, who alleged that after taking over the KWSB by the provincial government, there was an acute water shortage in several city areas.

They alleged that water was being supplied to several parts of Baldia Town through Rangers, but now they claimed that its supply was abruptly stopped.

The treasury members were repeatedly interrupted by the opposition members by shouting “This is a lie,” “Restore UC funds”.

In his emotionally charged speech, Juman Darwan of the Awam Dost Panel accused the city government of sowing ethnic turmoil in the city by ignoring the development needs of underdeveloped areas of the city.

Mr Darwan’s remarks were repeatedly interrupted by treasury benches by thumping of desks. The convener had to ask the treasury to stop it and allow the member to complete his speech.

Concluding his speech, Mr Darwan said the city nazim should serve the city without consideration of caste or language.

His remarks also created uproar in the house. Some treasury members defended the city nazim, saying that a conspiracy was being hatched to tarnish his image.

The session which continued for 45 minutes was abruptly adjourned by the convener to meet again on June 10, at 11.30am.