RAHIM YAR KHAN: A case of alleged irregularity involving re-auctioning of the Allama Iqbal Library canteen, in which the municipal committee (MC) will reportedly lose Rs1.23 million annually has surfaced.

As per details, during the tenure of former Additional Deputy Commissioner General (ADCG) / MC Administrator Irfan Anwar, members of the auction committee held the bidding process. According to the documents available withDawn,the first auction of the canteen took place on Dec 30, 2025 and 10 bidders participated and a bidder won the five-year contract (extendable by another five years) for a monthly rent of Rs126,000. However, the ADCG did not approve the auction and left the process pending due to unknown reasons.

Later after four months, another advertisement for the auction was published in three newspapers on April 4, 2026 and the auction was to be held on April 23, 2026, however, there was no mention that this was a re-auction. None of the previous bidders participated in the auction and the reserve starting price was set at Rs20,000 for the constructed area of 665sft and open area of 430sft, total area of 1095sft.

Govt to lose Rs1.23m annually in the rent after the re-auction

In this auction, the successful bidder offered a monthly rent of Rs23,500 and after the due process, it was granted approval.

According to an officer of the library requesting anonymity, the tenant had sublet the canteen to another party on a three times higher monthly rent after taking possession of the premises, and it had been converted into a restaurant. The officer claimed that after the canteen became operational in Sept 2026, many problems were reported by the library visitors. He claimed that the canteen administration had occupied around 20marlas of land, against the four Marlas as per the lease, and took over the library’s whole parking area by putting chairs and tables for their customers. Furthermore, he claimed the front elevation of the library was affected, which also impacted the literary atmosphere of the library.

When contacted, MC CO said that due process had been followed during both the auctions as per the Auction Collection Right Rules, 2016. Current ADCG Malik Farooq Ahmed was also contacted but he did not respond to calls by this scribe.

Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Anwar Jappa held former ADCG/ MC Administrator Irfan Anwar responsible for not approving the first auction. He also blamed him for many other administrative issues in the MC. He said that as a district head of the administration, he removed some other heads of government departments, who had not been working properly for public good and had them transferred. He claimed that when the matter of the said canteen came into his knowledge, he conducted an inquiry and sent the inquiry report to the local government secretary for further action.

Meanwhile, a local citizen of Rahim Yar Khan had filed a writ petition on Oct 10 in the Lahore High Court (LHC) Bahawalpur Bench regarding the handling of the auction process. He had claimed that the additional deputy commissioner general (ADCG) / administrator MC had shown favour to some parties, also included in the petition as respondents. He had claimed that the lower bid amount, compared to the bid for the first auction, had caused a huge loss to the public exchequer. The LHC bench in its directions on Oct 13 directed the DC to decide the matter in accordance with the law within a period of 30 days.

In this regard, MC chief officer had summoned the petitioner in the DC office on Nov 3. According to sources in the DC office, the DC heard arguments of the petitioner and assured him that he would look into the matter.
Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2026