HMC council approves honorarium for reserved seat members

Meeting discusses 17 points, including increasing taxes, slaughter houses

HYDERABAD: The council meeting of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) on Thursday discussed increasing the taxes on property, food, beverages, anti-encroachment, the licensing fee and HMC's slaughter house. Some of the proposals were approved while others were deferred for discussion in the next session.

The session was presided over by Mayor Syed Tayyab Hussain and had 17 items on the agenda. The session approved an honorarium for members selected on reserved seats of women, minorities and labourers. They will receive a sum equal to the one paid to elected chairmen of union committees (UC).

The sanction was also given for enhancing salaries of 450 contractual staff from Rs12,000 to Rs14,000, along with an 11-month contractual extension in the service.



The members complained about the spread of slaughter houses in every other locality of the city and called for an end to the collection of illegal parking fee on public roads.

"The citizens are being troubled by numerous charged parking spots that are functioning illegally. This practice should be immediately stopped," said Majid Khan, a UC chairman, who moved a resolution in this regard.

"A commercial market or residential plaza will essentially have to provide a parking plan. [If they violate the regulation], vehicles found parked outside the plaza [on the public road] will be fined Rs1,000," suggested a resolution. "Building material, [which is usually placed on the roads during the construction process] like cement, grit, cement, sand or steel bars found lying longer than three days in the same place, will also garner a fine of Rs10,000," it further recommended.



It also called for increasing the fine on items confiscated during anti-encroachment operations from residential and commercial places.

Another resolution proposed categorisation of the food licence fee, pointing out that hitherto a factory is levied the same fee as a small shop. Although the members acceded to the creation of three categories, they considered Rs5,000 as the highest amount of the licence fee too negligible. Some members suggested that the bigger food and beverages factories, mills, hotels and bakeries should be charged up to Rs100,000.

"Between Rs25,000 to Rs100,000 fine should be imposed on unhygienic conditions," it recommended, warning that under the new regulations a facility will be sealed for violating the conditions of the annual renewal of the licence and medical certificates of workers.



The meeting approved four of the last agendas without debate. "The HMC demands of the Sindh government to give it the right to collect and utilise the revenue collected from the property tax as written in Section 96 of Sindh Local Government Act, 2013," a resolution moved by Dr Ayaz Ahmed Arain read.

Although a press release issued by the HMC stated that the meeting approved Arain's resolution, Municipal Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan told The Express Tribune that the house deferred it for debate in the next session.

The members also passed the resolution of member Mazhar Jameel, who demanded the interior ministry direct NADRA to provide computerised certificates for registration of marriage, divorce, birth and death.

Some members accused Meat Section Officer Abdul Wahab Rashid of being responsible for the spread of illegal private slaughter houses in the residential areas, alleging that he takes bribes.