GUJRAT: The district administration has removed all clerical and junior staff at the registration branches of all three tehsils of the revenue department over complaints of corruption and abetting the litigants in tax evasion.

Official sources said the staff, including clerks and naib qasids, in the tehsil offices had been removed after a probe into their involvement in corrupt practices on transaction of properties.

It is learnt that the transfer orders were issued on Saturday by Gujrat Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Khizer Hayat Bhatti on the directions of Deputy Commissioner Safdar Virk. However, no replacement has so far been made against all the posts vacated due to the transfer of the staff.

An official said the matter of corruption in Gujrat and Sara-i-Alamgir Tehsil registration branches surfaced more than a week back as the officials abetted litigants to evade at least Rs50m taxes and minted millions of rupees through a deal which was brought into the notice of the district collector.

After the initial probe, most of the evaded tax money has reportedly been recovered from the officials after but the administration removed the entire staff of the registration branches in all three tehsils.

The transferred officials include at least seven clerks and as many peons and their services were put at the disposal of the district collector.

Official sources said the administration was preparing the list for the posting of new officials at the vacated seats.

OPERATION: The local administration continued its anti-encroachment operation for the second day on Monday along city’s Bhimber Road area.

Illegally-built concrete structures were dismantled with the help of heavy machinery and unapproved hoardings were also removed.

The anti-encroachment team was led by Gujrat AC Bilal Zubair whereas officials of the Gujrat Municipal Corporation, land revenue and police departments were part of the team.

A senior official said city’s air strip, Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital, Government Zamindar College, Women College Marghzar Colony and several private hospitals and commercial plazas were located along the road but encroachments and illegal parking would hinder traffic movement.

A senior official of the highways department told Dawn that the contract for the rehabilitation of 40km long Gujrat-Kotla- Bhimbher road right from city’s Kutchery Chowk to the border of Azad Kashmir (Bhimbher district), had been awarded and work would be initiated within a few days.

He said the road rehabilitation project was approved a couple of years ago by the then CM Hamza Shahbaz on the recommended by former PML-N MNA Abid Raza Kotla, who is the president of party’s Gujranwala division.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2024