Exploiting visitors: Recreational spots charging an arm and a leg

Expensive parking, rides, food and drink have become the hallmarks of Lahore’s parks

LAHORE:

Parks and recreation centres offer a much needed break to families and individuals alike from their daily routines but for some they have now become money minting outlets.

A contracting mafia, which has slowly taken over various scenic spots in Lahore, under the guise of expensive contracts, charges exorbitant amounts for car parking, rides for children, and food and drinks. Despite there being a cap on prices set by the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), caretakers of the parking lots, swings, and canteens flout it with impunity.

According to the administrators of the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park Lahore, who wished to remain anonymous whilst talking to The Express Tribune, the PHA administration approves the tickets for swings and food and drinks. “A committee reviews the rates of these goods and services, compares them to the rates in other entertainment centres of the city, and then approves prices. However, the contractors are allowed to charge 10 to 15 percent above the fixed price,” the administrators informed.

Consequently, operators start charging an arm and a leg; and it is common practice to avoid giving itemised bills or receipts of any sort. Mohammad Ashraf, a contractor who runs a canteen in a well-known park in Lahore, admitted that the rates for any entertainment activities along with food and drink in parks are higher than the market rate. “However, there are several reasons for this. The main one being the high contract prices that we have to pay prior to setting up shop,” he explained. Other reasons include various types of government taxes which have to be paid in advance and provision of free food to the administration of the park, as per Ashraf. “Even though giving free food to officers and their guests is not part of the contract, we have no choice.

If we get on their wrong side, they will start issuing fines. Therefore, it is important to keep the administration happy,” informed Ashraf with a grimace.

However, the attitude of the administration and contractors alike does not come as a surprise to Dr Zainab Hashmi, a sociologist based in the city. “The contracting system in government departments runs on a give and take basis. This connivance of the contractors and the management has to be borne by the common citizens, whether it is in the form of exorbitant prices or quality of food items and other services,” she opined. The sociologist further said that the formal complaints that perturbed visitors make to the relevant authorities are simply brushed under the rug. “There is no check and balance. The contractors and administration are free to do as they please,” said Dr Hashmi.

Spokesman for PHA, Hafiz Hassan, disagreeing with Dr Hashmi’s views, said that there was a system in place to award all contracts. “An open auction is held, and the contract is awarded to the highest bidder. If any contractor has objections to the contract being put up for auction, he can take it up with our complaints redressal committee,” informed Hassan.

On the other hand, former director of Punjab Wildlife, Chaudhry Shafqat Ali, believes that it is not as black and white as being portrayed. “Some contractors work in connivance with each other whenever they have to fail a new contractor,” Ali explained, “for instance, in a Bahawalpur Zoo contract, the rate of meat for the animals in the auction was Rs 178 per kg, but in the contractor offered meat for only Rs 78 per kg. We had to cancel that auction. In the re-auction, another contractor offered meat at Rs 38 per kg even though the rate of meat in the market was several times higher.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2022.