KARACHI, Jan 12: The Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority (KFHA) has called for implementing the decision regarding payment of port facilities rent fixed by the government.

The Managing Director of the KFHA, Abdul Waheed Pirzada, said here while talking to newsmen at his office that it was essential to make the Authority financially viable so as to enable it execute the development projects as required by the European Union countries.

He insisted that the issue of the rent rate had already been settled and duly approved by the government.

He categorical denied any dispute between the KFHA and the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) and said that all the Authority wanted was the implementation of the decision without any further delay.

He recalled that the former governor, through the order No 5(17) SO(FISH)/AL&F/2000, dated Nov 4, 2002, had rejected the FCS plea for the reversal of the decision. He expressed the hope that the FCS would now comply with the decision. He urged the Society to help the KFHA run the harbour affairs smoothly and fulfil the responsibility of managing and developing the harbour.

Mr Pirzada said that the decision to raise the rent rate from Rs250 to Rs650 per square yard annually was taken at a meeting held on May 19, 2001. The meeting, he added, was also attended by the FCS chairman who had suggested the rate at Rs622 instead of Rs1,000 per square yard annually. The suggestion was subsequently approved by the governor, he recalled.

Referring to statistics, the KFHA MD said that the FCS had earned Rs130 million during 2001-2002 from the auctions for which it availed the facilities of jetties, auction halls, etc. which belonged to the KFHA.

The annual rent, at the rate of Rs650, makes it a little more than Rs15 million (12.3 per cent) of the FCS income but the Society is reluctant to clear the outstanding amount, he regretted.

Mr Pirzada pointed out that the delay in payment had been creating unnecessary confusion as well as undesired tension between the two organizations.

Furthermore, he added, that the non-payment was adversely affecting development work at the harbour, especially the work on shrimp-peeling complex being carried out to meet the standards required by the EU countries.

He indicated that all development projects were being carried out by KFHA itself since its inception. He explained that the KFHA and the FCS were organizations entrusted with jobs of different nature; one has the responsibility of managing and developing the harbour whereas the other, being an NGO, was committed to the welfare of fishermen community.