DADU, Feb 2: The collection of service tax and entry tax, imposed by the Taluka Nazim on the National Highway and Indus Highways in the different districts of Sindh, is illegal.

This was observed by Sindh local government, industries and labour minister Deewan Mohammad Yousuf Farooqui while talking to the Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors of Dadu district here on Saturday.

He asked the Nazims to immediately remove tax collection points established at the highways and stop collecting taxes from the people.

Later, while speaking at a press conference at the circuit house and an open kutchehry in Dadu Gymkhana on Saturday, he said that teaching staff would be appointed on contract basis, for which he would request the Sindh governor to relax the ban in the education department.

He assured that the closed schools would be reopened and new buildings would also be constructed for those school functioning without buildings in the remote areas of the province.

He asked the Nazims of the union councils to visit schools and send their reports to the authorities concerned through the Zila Nazim.

He said that Thatta and Dadu sugar mills would be privatized in March, 2002.

Mr Farooqui said that the Sindh government had decided to distribute Rs180 million among the employees of the Dadu Sugar Mills, Piaro Goth, and Thatta Sugar Mills out of Rs480 million. The corruption cases of the officials of these mills would referred to the National Accountability Bureau.

He asked the Taluka Nazims and Zila Nazim to remove the illegal constructions/encroachment with the help of the police department.

Under the new set up of the government, he said that the work of the ongoing schemes of the public health department would continue under the taluka administration. He asked the Nazims of the union councils not to interfere in the taluka administration.

The minister said that the government had not fixed the salaries of the union council Nazim or members of the taluka or Zila council.

Talking on outbreak of the skin disease in the district, he said that the government had released Rs4 million to purchase the antimony injection and other medicine required for the treatment of skin disease Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

He said that Government of Pakistan had notified that the federal departments including Wapda, telephone, SSGC and zakat and the provincial departments including irrigation, food, auqaf and forest department would work under the supervision of the Zila Nazim.