Agitated in Abbottabad : Rifts in tehsil council continue to deepen

Convenor, opposition refuse to attend session called by nazim

ABBOTABAD: The crisis within Abbottabad tehsil council has deepened after the convener and opposition members did not attend the session on Friday, leaving the house divided.

The tehsil nazim had convened the session without the consent of convener Sardar Shujah Ahmed. Earlier, Ahmed had adjourned proceedings till February 22. Tensions between PTI and opposition parties have persisted since January 19 when the opposition and convener were not provided with copies of the development budget. The situation further deteriorated when the opposition and the convener opted not to attend Friday’s session. PTI leader Sardar Raees chaired the session. The session was attended by 23 out of the 57 members of the house.

Illegal occupation

During the session, the house was further divided when PTI’s Sardar Sher Dil and JI's Mujtaba Hasan jointly presented a resolution accusing the owners of a chemist's shop of illegally occupying one kanal of land owned by the Abbottabad Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA). Through the resolution, they claimed since the market price of this commercial property was no less than Rs1 billion, the TMA must repossess and auction the property once again.

Taxes and auctions

In another resolution, PTI’s Raja Shujaat proposed the imposition of a Rs200 tax on each tourist visiting Abbottabad district.

Meanwhile, Sher Dil presented a resolution demanding the cancellation of the lease and rent deeds of TMA shops and commercial property. He suggested the land be re-auctioned to increase income.

He pointed out that when the TMA's commercial property was leased out to private owners, the rates were nominal and needed to be increased to market rates.

Legal action

PTI's Shaukat Abbasi criticised the administration and accused it of poor performance during the snow and rain which lashed Abbottabad on February 11. The adverse weather conditions disrupted electricity and communication.

He demanded legal action against the Hazara commissioner, DC, AC, Abbottabad district nazim and Galiyat Development Authority director general in this regard.

All resolutions were adopted by the house.

The other view

When contacted, T Ahmed said he adjourned the house on January 29 till February 22. He stressed that the session, called by the tehsil nazim on Friday, was unlawful and against the spirit of the K-P Local Government Act 2013.

He said that under the by-laws, he was chairman of the house's finance committee and no tax could be imposed without his consent. He claimed the ruling party had crossed all limits.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th,  2016.