FAISALABAD, June 26: The Tehsil Municipal Administration (City) has once again reportedly refused to follow the instructions of the Punjab government and the Rural Development Department under which it was asked not to award contracts for building fee collection.

Sources in the TMA told this correspondent on Saturday that its functionaries considered such instructions arbitrary, and said, "there is no need to abide by such orders."

They said the local government and the RDD had issued on July 22, 2003 comprehensive guidelines for the implementation of collection rights' rules, 2003. These stated that the local councils could auction the contracts of toll, parking fee, sale and slaughter of animals, transfer of property rights and advertisement tax. But it had no right to award contracts for water rate, lighting, and building, sanitation and license fees.

Interestingly, these instructions were issued in the second month of the financial year 2003-04 when almost all the local councils had already awarded contracts through auction. However, the government did nothing to proceed against any of the TMAs at that time.

For 2004-05, the TMA (city) auctioned the building fee contract to Shabbir Husain through SY Corporation at the highest bid of Rs187.5 million (about 185 per cent higher than the previous year's).

After completion of the auction process and acceptance of the bid by the TMA, the contractor reportedly manoeuvred a circular from the DCO asking the TMOs to take steps to stop the tehsil Nazims to formally award the contract for building fee.

Insiders said the contractor, who got the contract in an open auction, realized that it would be a very tough task to get the money. Therefore, he got issued a special circular from the DCO to escape bid.

When contacted, City Tehsil Nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema lashed out at the circular by the DCO, and described it as uncalled for. He said almost all the TMAs in the province were collecting building fee by awarding contracts through open auction.

He claimed that the TMA had not committed violation of the rules or instructions of the provincial government, as the building fee contract was awarded through an open auction in a transparent manner.

He claimed that for the first time in the TMA history, the building fee contract had been awarded at a record rate of Rs87.5 million, which indicated that the process of awarding the contract was in the interest of the citizens.

The TMA would not bow down to any undue interference of the DCO and endorse the contract of the building fee at its meeting.