FAISALABAD, Jan 14: The Tehsil Municipal Administration (city) and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) burdened the people with heavy fee imposed on the entry of sacrificial animals in the city.
This correspondent saw on Friday armed men of the contractors were forcibly collecting Rs300 from the buyer and Rs400 from the seller of a sacrificial cow and Rs200 from the seller and Rs100 from the purchaser of a lamb or sheep at all the 10 sale points earmarked by the TMA.
It was also noticed that the TMA officials and the armed men of contractors were charging Rs10 to Rs30 for each animal at every entry point of city as octroi fee despite the fact that it had been abolished.
It is learnt that the TMA bosses had awarded contract for the collection of fee from the sellers and buyers for Rs430,000. Similarly, the Wasa warehouse on Samundri Road has been given to a contractor for Rs2.2 million.
The contractors of the TMA and Wasa are bound to charge Rs4 for a sheep or goat and Rs18 for a cow, however, they are charging 2,000 per cent extra which exposes tall claims of good governance of the government.
The armed men of contractors were also seen manhandling the people who refused to pay the Jagga (forced) tax. However, when one insists on the official receipt, contractors issued a blank receipt with a stamp indicating only name of the contractor.
It is lamentable that the citizens were being fleeced by the local councils in the name of providing facilities at sale points. But the fact is that there exists no facility for animals like fodder, shed and water at these sale points.
A source close to the Nazim told Dawn that the authorities concerned had received Rs2 million through 'underhand deals' from the contractors for awarding contracts of fee on sacrificial animals. Meanwhile, a Wasa spokesman confirmed giving of its warehouse on contract. However, the contractor was bound to charge the fee according to schedule of the TMA.
ANIMALS' PRICES: The prices of sacrificial animals are about 35 per cent more than that of the last year. A goat of normal size is sold for Rs9,000 to Rs10,000 as compared to Rs7,000 to Rs8,000 last year. Similarly, the price of a cow ranges between Rs20,000 and Rs32,000. A camel is being sold for Rs35,000 to Rs40,000.
The breeders claimed that the commission mafia and middlemen stocked the herds of animals months before the Eid on very low prices and disposed them of on high rates. Moreover, heavy taxes imposed by the TMA in the name of entry fee on the sacrificial animals also resulted in the increase in the prices of animals.
