HYDERABAD, Jan 29: The Hyderabad District Council in a resolution adopted on Thursday demanded that the Sindh Local Government Commission should hold an inquiry into affairs of the City taluka municipal administration.
It demanded that the SLGC should particularly investigate the issue of a bus terminal which the council members said was approved by the City Taluka Council illegally.
The resolution was tabled by Dr Ayaz Arain, who had first raised the issue on Wednesday. Tanvir Siddiqui said the TMA was involved in extortion in the name of anti-encroachment campaign. He accused the TMA of fraud in the bus terminal matter.
Babu Ramzan Arain regretted that sanitary staff was being continuously changed in union councils, particularly in his union council-18. He blamed Taluka Nazim Moin Shaikh for taking credit for development schemes executed by the district government and called for setting aside what he called illegal resolutions, adopted by the taluka council.
Sultan Khan said measures should be taken to remove alleged corruption in the TMA. Mohammad Ali Gohar asked convener Nawab Rashid Ali Khan to take action in the matter and refer it to the SLGC for an inquiry.
Babu Ilyas accused the taluka Nazim of corruption for not taking action against corrupt officials of the TMA. He said it should be determined whether the taluka council could decide the bus terminal matter.
He appealed to Muttahida Qaumi Movement ministers to again discuss the bus terminal project in the Sindh cabinet as it would create chaos in traffic. Mr Ilyas said the Elite Cinema was being demolished despite the matter was sub judice.
He said the taluka Nazim had appointed his favourites in sanitation work. He alleged that the corrupt Naib Nazim was made the chairman of the anti-encroachment committee.
The convener directed the council officer to bind down the director general of the Hyderabad Development, Ali Ahmad Lund, to appear at the council's Saturday session along with the record regarding the allotment of two amenity plots for commercial purposes in the city.
Mohammad Yusuf Qureshi drew the attention of council towards the matter, quoting a news report. He said the plots located around Wasa's water pumping stations on the Thandi Sarak and the Tulsi Das Road had been disposed of at a throwaway price by the HDA.
Quoting sections 124 and 125 of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, he said the property of the district government could only be utilized for public purposes.
Khalil Memon said the taluka Nazim was neglecting his union council-3. In another resolution, Yousuf Qureshi proposed that the formula agreed upon between TMAs of City, Latifabad and Qasimabad should be implemented in letter and spirit.
He called for transferring funds of TMAs directly in their accounts. He said the share of TMAs of Latifabad and Qasimabad which was given to clear liabilities by the City TMA from its betterment tax should also be recovered. He said liabilities were to be cleared by the Sindh government.