CDA should transfer property tax funds to IMC: mayor

Challenges civic body’s right; IHC summons details today


​ Our Correspondent December 11, 2019
PHOTO: INP

ISLAMABAD: The local government body of the federal capital has filed a suit in the Islamabad High Court for its right over the property tax collection.

Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) tired of being berated for bad performance threw the gauntlet at Capital Development Authority (CDA) demanding constitutional right of an elected body to collect property tax so as to run the city.

Subsequently, IHC has asked the apex civic body to submit details of the funds generated from the collection of property tax in the federal capital.

IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was hearing the petition filed by Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz through the counsel Haseeb Hasan.

The mayor stated that 2015 was the first year when the elections of local bodies’ were held after four decades and the incumbent IMC was elected.

During the years of absence of a local government system, Aziz pointed out, CDA carried on collection of property tax and charges under different amenities and services from the residents of Islamabad.

The mayor asserted that the residents of the rural areas of the city, despite a hefty collection of funds, remained deprived of the amenities.

He pleaded the court to instruct CDA to transfer property tax funds to IMC.

The court issued a notice to CDA directing it to submit a report on funds’ details and adjourned the hearing until Wednesday.

Deadline for the deployment of NIRM CEO

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah has directed the health secretary to release notification of the appointment of Dr Fazal Maula as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM).

Chief Justice Minallah was hearing contempt petition against non-issuance of the appointment’s notification.

The court suggested the respondents hear grievances of Dr Maula and find their resolution. Khawar Ameer Bukhari Advocate was representing the petitioner while the representatives of health ministry included Deputy Director G.M Jakharani and Deputy Secretary Zafar Iqbal.

The court instructed the health secretary to issue a notification regarding the appointment of Dr Maula as CEO within two weeks. The court warned that there would a contempt action against him if the orders were neglected this time.

The court suggested hearing Dr Maula’s issues and finding a solution for them at earliest.

Reply sought from NTS

A single-member bench of IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has sought a reply from the respondents on the petitions filed against negligence shown by National Testing Service (NTS) during the formulation of the test results conducted for recruitment in the defence ministry.

During the hearing, the counsel representing the petitioners said that the result of the recruitment test for the ministry of defense conducted on November 17 was uploaded on the NTS official website on December 4.

Highlighting the discrepancies in the outcome, the applicants accused the testing service of tempering them and asserted that the students who did not even appear in the examination were declared pass while they were listed fail.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2019.

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