HYDERABAD: Even after one year, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Hyderabad region could not start inquiries into 10 different complaints about duplicate and fraudulent allotments of plots in Hyderabad’s new sabzi mandi, a project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

ACE sources confirmed on Thursday the delay is being caused because of non-cooperation from those associated with the market committee. “But recently the market committee chairman and former administrator [have been] asked to submit the relevant record or the ACE will proceed in the matter as per given rules,” said a source.

It was learnt that sitting market committee chairman Shahnawaz Rind and former administrator Shaukat Mastoi were called by the ACE deputy director to bring record of the project before ACE.

The ACE Hyderabad region seeks the record in view of the complaints filed before it since previous year, levelling allegations of corruption against Mr Mastoi and other officials. The complaints included an anonymous application and letters of the Hyderabad deputy commissioner.

Mr Mastoi is serving as BS-19 officer in the Sindh agriculture department as director marketing of the Karachi region. He has served as administrator for a long time in different stints. He was removed only last year when the government decided to shift the mandi — located in midst of the city — to its new site near lined channel in view of the pandemic.

The 10 complaints included those of Mohammad Haneef about illegal allotment of his plot-3 in phase-I to Fateh Deen; a letter of the Hyderabad ADC on the basis of Altaf Memon’s application against administrator of the market committee about illegal sale of auction plots A/2 and A/3; Syed Hassan Shah Bukhari’s plea against illegal allotment of his shops; Gul Sher Arain’s application against Shaukat Mastoi on illegal transfer of shops and Mohammad Ameen’s against market committee officers/officials about threats of cancellation of plot A/3.

Other applications included one anonymous against Shaukat Mastoi; Mohammad Iqbal Chohan’s application against Shaukat Mastoi for alleged corrupt practices in the new sabzi mandi; Amjad Abro’s against the sitting market committee chairman on illegal transfer of plot-45; Mohammad Khalid’s plea against market committee officials on illegal transfer of plot-32 and Deen Mohammad’s against market committee inspector Nazar Mohammad Mastoi for misappropriation of funds.

“Market committee chairman Shahnawaz Rind is told to submit the record as quickly as possible or face [legal] action,” said an ACE source.

Mr Rind confirmed receiving ACE’s call and said he would be submitting record to them accordingly. He said the ACE had also written a letter to him. He said he was elected as chairman one year ago and he was trying to address issues of various natures in the market.

According to Shaukat Mastoi, the sabzi mandi’s project was launched in 1996 following ADB’s approval of the plan for market committees in different cities, including Karachi. The mandi is located on 73 acres inclusive of plots on 47 acres for growers. He said 26 acres — 13 acres each — are meant for vegetable and fruit markets in the project.

Hali Road’s market exists on seven acres with a host of civic issues for the traders and community living around it. A Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench had ordered its shifting to its new site but even then it was delayed.

It was only because of Covid-19 that the government started shifting market in April 2020 to avoid spread of the virus even though issues relating to infrastructure were not addressed by the agriculture department and civic agencies.

Traders had initially resisted shifting of the market previous year, demanding that issues of multiple/duplicate and fraudulent allotments should be addressed first.

But recently a group of traders led by Altaf Memon, who opposed shifting last year, submitted an undertaking before the administration, for one or the other reason, to shift the mandi.

The other group questioned his undertaking. Some petitions are filed before court in which court ordered shifting of the market but allowed petitioners to continue their trade at both new and old sites with principle auction taking place at the new site.

Hyderabad-based traders, including Altaf Memon, Rashid Arain, Najmuddin Asif Arain, Ziauddin and others, accuse each other of being beneficiary of plots’ sale in the new market. Their controversy remained unending to date.

And those who have shifted to the new site claimed that they faced a host of issues ranging from civic amenities to proper land use in the mandi.

“It appears that if issues are not settled in this mandi even this site will become a disaster for the traders. It is going to be a crisis in the making,” one of the traders remarked while requesting anonymity.

Even market committee’s election is being debated. People like Altaf Memon and Rashid Arain question election of Rind on the ground that he primarily hails from Shaheed Benazirabad district, thus he could not be elected as such under Market Produce Act 1939.

The committee perhaps does not have representation of growers’ bodies like the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), Sindh Chamber of Agriculture and Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI). All these three growers’ bodies are stationed in Hyderabad.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021