KARACHI, Oct 30: Shopkeepers belonging to SITE Town Administration have complained that illegal gratification was being demanded by the concerned staff for the issuance of trade licences.

A number of shopkeepers pointed out that some unscrupulous staff at the Administration’s Trade Licensing Office had been forcing them to pay Rs1,200 in case of a small shop and between Rs2,000 and 2,500 in case of a bigger shop/business concern as against the prescribed fee of Rs360.

Endorsing the shopkeepers’ complaint as genuine, a councillor of the Town’s Union Council No 2, Mansoor Ali, said that he had brought the issue into the notice of the Administration’s municipal officer “who has already initiated an inquiry into the affair.”

The councillor was of the view that because of the extortion, shopkeepers refrained from applying for the licence and this was causing a big loss to the Administration.