Owners of illegal buildings fined Rs260m

Commissioner orders operation to collect municipal taxes

The Rawalpindi Commissioner Muhammad Mehmood said on Monday that a fine of Rs260.3 million was imposed to 103 building owners for violating building laws in the limits of Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC).

Presiding over a meeting of the corporation, he said that operation against illegal constructions is underway and RMC has collected an amount of Rs25 million out of the total Rs260.3 million imposed to violators. Commissioner Mehmood said that out of 103 illegally constructed buildings, fines have been collected from the owners of 36 buildings while the process of recovery from the owners of 18 buildings is underway and action is being taken against the rest.

He said that the Metropolitan Corporation has planned to use modern electricity meters in the streetlights to reduce the electricity bills and the two-month survey of IESCO in this regard is expected to be completed this week. He said that the process of garbage removal and cleaning from the cemeteries within the limits of the corporation was underway and it should be completed expeditiously and these cemeteries should be cleaned before the start of the dengue larvae breeding season. He said that computer tests for the clerical staff of the Metropolitan Corporation would be held this month.

The second phase of auction process of shops and flats of RMC has started and like the first phase, shops and flats will be auctioned according to the market rate.