Model Town: Residents Association says club violating stay order

Residents Assoc, Society and Club at odds over setting up of marquee for weddings on club grounds.

LAHORE:

The Model Town Residents Association (MTRA) has accused the Model Town Club of violating a stay order on the “construction” of a marquee at the club, saying workers doing preliminary work by laying tiles for a walkway.

For the last three days, around half a dozen labourers have been laying Tuff tiles in the club courtyard leading to the site of the marquee, which the club uses to host weddings.

(Read: Model Town - Residents step into wedding tent row)

MTRA President Amer Bakht Azam said he would move a contempt petition against the club with the registrar for cooperative societies, as, he argued, the tile work constituted construction work and was thus a violation of the registrar’s order of September 15 staying the setting up of the marquee.

“The club management has no respect for the law,” said Azam. “They are violating the court order.” He also criticised the Model Town Society, saying it must cancel the club lease deed after the “repeated and blatant violations” of the lease agreement.

Tahir Kardar, the president of Model Town Society, said that the society was currently engaged in a legal battle with the Model Town Club in a civil court. The society was issued a contempt of court notice after it disconnected the club’s electricity supply.  Kardar said that the society was well within its rights to disconnect the electricity supply. “We said two things in our reply. First, the construction of the marquee is illegal; and second, the case is not in the jurisdiction of the civil court. The registrar for cooperative housing societies is the proper forum to decide the issue,” he said.

Model Town Club President Ibrar Bhatti said the Model Town Society was the only legitimate body of residents. He said he had not known of the order of the registrar. He said the labourers were doing “minor repair work” at the club. Arsalan Gaba, who is in charge of the wedding tent at the club, said that the tile work had been ongoing for three days and would be finished very soon, “maybe even this evening” (Wednesday).

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2011.