HYDERABAD, April 7: Hyderabad District Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman has observed that work done by the DCO without his signature will be illegal because he continued to be the nazim till a notification regarding his removal is issued. Talking to Dawn on the phone, he said till Thursday afternoon he had not received any such notification. He said he had every moral right to introduce himself as the district nazim till he received a notification of his removal.

“I am not attending my office to protest against the way the district was divided. I have not handed over the charge to the DCO and, thus, any work going on in the district government without my approval will be considered illegal”, he said.

“I enjoy people’s confidence because I took 75 per cent votes in all eight talukas of the district when I was elected the nazim.”

He said tenders for development schemes were to be issued after his approval regarding expenditure of Rs900 million from savings in funds of the district government for 2003-04. He said the schemes had already been submitted to him by each union council but now it appeared that these would remain pending. Of these funds, he further said, around Rs45 million pertained to the defunct district council.

ARRESTED: Two persons, Raza Mohammad Talpur and Niaz Hussain Machi, were arrested by the Hatri police on Wednesday for depriving Laung Badal of his motorcycle at gunpoint.