PESHAWAR, June 10: The provincial assembly has passed the North West Frontier Province Urban Immovable Property Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2003, amid an uproar by the opposition here on Tuesday.

Opposing the bill, Abdul Akbar Khan of the PPP said it was an un-Islamic move on the part of the government. He said the House had already adopted a resolution unanimously on Jan 2, demanding the waiver of property tax and the government was bound to abolish it.

Speaker Bakht Jahan Khan after seeking the opinion of the House declared it passed.

When minister for excise and taxation Fazal-i-Rabbani moved the bill in the House, Akbar Khan said it was not in line with the recommendations of the Islamic Ideology Council, which had termed it un-Islamic. The treasury benches refused to buy any advice on the religious aspect of the bill and passed it.

Minister for law and parliamentary affairs Malik Zafar Azam had tabled the North West-Frontier Province Amendment of Certain Laws (Amendment) Ordinance on chief minister’s behalf in the House. It was issued by the NWFP governor on April 2, 2003.

Speaking on his call attention notice, Israrullah Gandapur told the House that the construction of Gomal dam would render 70,000 residents of 27 villages of tehsil Kulachi homeless. He said this dam would not bring any positive change in the area, rather it would turn their lands into marshes. He said they had been following a tribal code for the irrigation purposes for centuries and government should respect their traditions.

Supporting the Gomal dam construction, MPA Tahir Bin Yamin from district Tank said this dam was aimed at irrigating the barren lands of Tank. He said the people of Tank should be consulted on the project. “We respect the tribal code and want to settle it in the light of our traditions on irrigation”, he added.

Minister for irrigation, Hafiz Akhtar Ali, assured them that he was ready to discuss this issue with the concerned parties.

Through their joint call attention notice, MPAs from Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Dargai and Takhtbadi: Nadir Shah, Maulana Mohammad Idrees, Abdul Majid Khan, Jabal Amin, Naeema Akhtar, Abdul Akbar Khan and Syed Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha drew the attention of the House towards the destruction of standing crop and fruit gardens.

They said the recent hailstorm lashed their areas and destroyed tobacco crop, fruit gardens and razed houses in different parts of the affected districts. They urged the government to give the affected people compensation, waive their agriculture loans and other taxes.

Senior minister Sirajul Haq told the House that after getting an assessment of the losses, government would help the affected people of the calamity-hit areas.

During question-answer’s hour, the House was told that National Accountability Bureau’s regional branch in Peshawar had neither paid the rent nor the gas bills during their three year’s stay at the MPA hostel in Peshawar. The House was also told that the NWFP government had asked the federal government to ask the NAB to pay the dues immediately.

Most of the lawmakers complained that after the eviction of the NAB authorities they were not finding any furniture in their rooms.

Anwar Kamal Marwat of the PML-N said that the NAB had spent Rs18 million on the construction of lock-ups in the hostel and on furniture, but the furniture was stolen.

Akbar Khan urged the government to hold an inquiry into the theft of the furniture. If the government had purchased the furniture where it had gone, he inquired.

Senior minister Sirajul Haq said they would investigate into the matter.

Speaking on the dilapidated conditions of the basic heath units in his area, Nisar Safadar Khan informed the House that the police had occupied a BHU in Rajoya village and set a police post in it.

Abdul Akbar Khan urged the government to lift the ban on fresh recruitments and appoint doctors at the BHUs, which are the only place where rural population gets treatment.

Mr Safdar complained that despite assurances made by the health department, the police continuing the occupation of the BHU. He said either it may be declared a police post or it may be made the BHU.