4 contractors to build a wall each for Thull school: MPA

KARACHI: There is a school in Thul, Jacobabad, whose contract has been given to four different groups.

On Tuesday, in the Sindh Assembly MPA Nasir Khoso of the Pakistan Peoples Party informed the House of this case. “The contract for each wall and the roof has been awarded to different people,” he said. Minister for Works and Services Manzoor Wassan promised that he will order an inquiry and strict action would be taken against relevant officials.

Private school fees

PPP’s Sharjeel Inam Memon raised the issue of exorbitant fees charged by private schools, some of whom charge building funds as well. The school building is the property of the owner and it makes no sense for parents to pay for it, Memon said, while he requested the education department to take an action against them.

PML-F’s Nusrat Saher Abbasi drew attention to the alarming cases of beatings at schools. Abbasi said that a teacher in Tando Bagho beat  up a student so badly that his parents had to take him to the hospital in critical condition. “These frustrated and criminal-minded teachers should be removed from service,” she said.

Rani Kot

The condition of Rani Kot is deteriorating and despite claims of rehabilitation, no work has started to preserve it, said Dr Sikandar Shoro.

He suggested that a committee be formed to look into the issue.

Palijo responded by saying that Rani Kot still falls under the federal government even though the 18th Amendment dissolved the concurrent list. It is expected that the archaeology ministry will soon be handed over to the provinces, she hoped.

A master plan had been formed by the previous government in 2006 for the preservation of the fort. “They had allocated funds that can be utilised in the coming budget if we get an official control of it,” she added.

Mukhtiarkars and tapedars

Minister for Revenue Jam Mehtab Dahar said that 99 junior officers were appointed as mukhtiarkars due to a shortage of eligible candidates on their own pay scales.

He said that when vacancies arise, these 99 mukhtarkars will be sent back to their original posts. Responding to allegations of corruption against these officers, Dahar said that nine officials have been suspended in different districts following inquiries against them.

Dahar insisted that Muhammad Ali Khawaja, a mukhtiarkar accused of corruption, has been suspended after an inquiry was conducted against him. An opposition member, Muhammad Ali Malkani, said, however, that he can prove that Khawaja is still working on the same post. The speaker ordered Malkani to sit down after his outburst.

Nusrat Saher Abbasi inquired about the lifestyles of tapedars, who manage to keep luxury cars and bungalows in Sindh despite their lower grades. Dahar promised that he will look into the issue and make sure they are held accountable for living beyond their means.

Land owners can directly deposit land tax in banks if they do not want to give it to the tapedar. However, there are no proposals recommending that a tapedar is no longer eligible to collect taxes.

Freedom Flotilla

Israel’s cronies should also be condemned for the barbaric attack on the ship carrying aid for the people of Gaza, said Dr Sikandar Mandhro.

The cronies support Israel by giving it the latest weapons and by vetoing any resolution against it in the United Nations, he said at the Sindh Assembly session on Tuesday.

The assembly unanimously passed a joint resolution against the deadly Israeli attack on a Turkish ship “The Mavi Marmara” in international waters.

The resolution was moved by Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Murad Ali Shah, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) Jam Madad Ali and Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Khawaja Izhar Hassan.

Minister for Culture Sassui Palijo said that the Foreign Office should forward a condemnation letter to all embassies.

The assembly session started at 11:40 am with the speaker, Nisar Ahmad Khoro, in chair.

It was a private members’ day, but no private resolutions, motions or bills were moved despite the fact that two bills, on the end of cheating culture during examinations and the control of mainpuri and gutka, were on the agenda.

Sindh Revenue Minister Jam Mehtab Daher said that with the promulgation of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, rural and urban areas stood bifurcated. The areas falling within the City District Government are urban. The Sindh Gothabad (Housing Scheme) Act of 1987 became redundant when the government introduced an amendment empowering it to declare various dehs as rural areas. No village was regularised between 2002 and May 30, 2009, and no village was registered again or surveyed during the same period.

To another question on the number of villages registered in Malir, Bin Qasim and Gadap towns, the minister said that no village was sanctioned from May 20, 2008 to May 8, 2009.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2010.