BAHAWALPUR: Residents and daily walkers are protesting against the commercialisation policy of local public parks by the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Bahawalpur, which, according to them, has restricted their entrance to the parks.

They expressed their concerns at a press conference at the Bahawalpur Press Club on Tuesday, saying the PHA had leased out Farid Park and the commercial area of Satellite Town. This, they claimed, allowed private contractors to build solid structures in the parks, contradicting the PHA Act 2012 and violating clauses 4 and 10 of this Act.

The residents living around these parks are disturbed over PHA’s decision to commercialize the parks, which should be kept green and clean for public use. They said that parks should be free from every type of brick structure, and there should be no activity causing trouble or mental disturbance to any stakeholders, including walkers, women, and their children.

After the installation of games and other facilities, visitors would have to pay substantial amounts to the contractors. They added that leasing out public parks undermines the basic rights of daily walkers, women, and children who currently utilize this facility free of cost.

They also demanded the PHA make public its annual income collected from advertising and publicity contracts to various firms and companies, along with details of its annual expenditures. They offered to contribute themselves if PHA’s income cannot meet the budget for employees’ salaries without leasing out the parks.

They appealed to the Punjab chief minister and the chief justice of Lahore High Court to take serious notice and not allow PHA to deprive senior citizens, women, and children of this free health and recreation facility. They urged the authorities to order PHA, Bahawalpur, to cancel its contracts to lease out public parks.

FTO: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Asif Mahmood Jah stated that FTO played a crucial role in refunding Rs17.7 billion from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) back to complainants in a year.

He said this at the Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) on Tuesday.

Dr Jah said that his secretariat played a remarkable role in making the tax system effective and corruption-free. The FTO serves as a watchdog on the tax system, providing relief to tax-paying people and affecting people, especially those with an annual salary less than Rs600,000. He urged the FBR to take action against corrupt officials damaging the national tax system.

People can approach the FTO through WhatsApp messages, emails, and simple letters at its helpline. The FTO disposed of 8,123 cases, providing relief to the applicants, and organised over 115 sessions across the country to raise awareness about its role. The FTO disposes of applications within 40 to 45 days.

Four divisions, including Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Sahiwal, fall under the jurisdiction of the FTO of Multan. The Multan office disposed of 815 applications out of a total of 828 filed with FTO Multan last year in 2023.

Earlier, BCCI President Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali Maan demanded the establishment of an FTO branch office in Bahawalpur.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2024