LAHORE, Nov 10: Temporary encroachments in the form of vendors’ stalls in commercial areas and merchandize display spaces in front of shops have become a goldmine for the officials responsible for the removal of the same since the establishment of the City District Government on Aug 14 last year.

An estimated 50,000 big and small encroachments exist in the markets and bazaars and along the important roads in the provincial metropolis.

Every vendor occupying a particular place pays between Rs500 to Rs5,000 daily to the official concerned regularly. Anyone refusing to pay the ‘fee’ is dislodged from the place and his merchandize carried away to ‘teach him a lesson’.

Temporary stalls and spaces known as tehbazari were permitted against payment of the prescribed penal rent. These were, however, banned in 1980’s in view of complaints that the receipts issued for the recovery of penal rent were misused by the vendors and traders for establishing themselves as the tenants of the civic body.

Abolition of the penal rent system proved a boon for the officials responsible for the removal of the encroachments. They continued recovering the rent and pocketing it and are doing so till date. They did not dislodge the vendors paying ‘rent’ to them from their posts and forewarned them in the event of any raids for removal of encroachments.

The establishment of the City District Government has secured the illegal income of the officials responsible for the removal of encroachments. The offices of executive magistrates and zonal secretaries, who used to supervize the anti-encroachment raids and demolition operations, were abolished and the tehsil municipal officers appointed in towns did not have time to supervize the removal of encroachments.

The officials are now free to negotiate ‘rent’ with the vendors and traders for encroaching on the footpaths and roadsides and add it to their regular monthly income.

Wasa staff: Hundreds of the workcharged employees of the Water and Sanitation Agency of the Lahore Development Authority await payment of salaries for the past two months.

The employees have been posted in different towns, sub-divisions and many of them have been in service for the past five years but neither their services have been regularized nor are they being paid their meagre salaries in time.