RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) on Sunday took possession of the playland in Commercial Market, Satellite Town, from the contractor to convert it into a parking area for the visitors.

Though the contractor claimed that a civil judge had issued a stay order on the matter RMC officials said there was no stay and the land was vacated to use it for public interest.

The enforcement cell on Sunday razed the swings and boundary walls of the playland. All fences were removed from the site and the debris would be lifted on Monday.

Talking to reporters, workers of the contractor said he had obtained a stay order from a local court but the RMC officials did not listen to them. They alleged that the lease agreement between the tenant and the RMC was not canceled.

Lease was not renewed for two years, land will now be used for parking, official says

When contacted, Metropolitan Officer Tauseef Ahmed Malik said the civic agency leased out the playland annually. The lease agreement expired two years ago and was not renewed. He said the eight kanals would be used as a parking area.

The RMC was earning Rs425,000 per month from the playland but by using the land for parking it would earn more, he added.

Meanwhile, the enforcement cell of the RMC on Sunday closed weekly bazaars at Committee Chowk and Haideri Chowk. All stallholders had arrived in the bazaars and established their stalls in the morning but the RMC closed the bazaars in the afternoon.

The stallholders said the district administration did not inform them about the closure in advance. They said they already had submitted the fee for holding the stalls.

The government should have informed the stallholders a day before so they would not have brought vegetables and fruits to the sites, they added.

But the metropolitan officer said the RMC was directed by the government not to allow shopkeepers to open their shops and the weekly bazaars were also closed under these directives.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2020