No progress: Cattle market capers continue

Stones pelted at CDA staff, tax notifications to be to submitted in IHC

ISLAMABAD:

City authorities and cattle traders Thursday stooped had a busy day, fighting two separate battles over the illegal cattle market in Sector I-11, and the taxes on sacrificial animals.

As the court case over the Sector I-11 market continued, cattle traders “successfully” resisted several moves by the city administration to uproot their camps from I-11 and move them to the designated site in Sector I-12.

Both sides have alleged each other of resorting to strong-arming and violence.

Despite repeated attempts by the ICT Administration and the CDA to uproot the illegal cattle market, which has now outgrown the legal one, the authorities had not seen much success till the time this report was filed.

On Thursday morning, the ICT Administration blocked off informal entry points to the illegal cattle market with containers. But the move brought little success as cattle traders continued to bring trucks carrying animals by carving out new routes to the market.

“The CDA have established counters at illegal markets asking citizens to not buy sacrificial animals from there,” the CDA spokesperson said. He said the CDA was currently engaged in negotiations with the traders. The spokesperson also alleged that a number of enforcement wing staffers sustained injuries at the hands of stone-pelting traders.

Court case

The Islamabad High Court ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Thursday to submit notifications regarding imposition of taxes over sacrificial animals and shifting of the cattle market from Sector I-11 to I-12 today (Friday).

IHC Justice Athar Minallah added that an identical matter was brought before the court last year but was not decided on because the CDA never submitted the relevant documents at the time.

Traders had approached the high court to move against the shifting of the temporary cattle market from Sector I-11 to I-12, as well as the imposition of taxes on sacrificial animals brought into the capital.

Four cattle-traders – Khizar Hayat, Arshad Mehmood, Sher Khan and Akram Khan – filed a petition seeking court’s directions to restrain the respondents from shifting the market, charging taxes and stopping offloading of animals in Sector I-11.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, enforcement director, deputy commissioner, municipal administration director, and the municipal administration deputy director, have been named as respondents. The contractor for the temporary site in Sector I-12 has also been named as a respondent.

The petitioners, through their counsel Muhammad Waseem Abbasi, have stated that in the past, they were provided with a site in Sector I-11, which was moved to Sector I-12 this year.

Referring to an IHC order from 2014, Abbasi said the court passed an interim order declaring taxes on the sale of sacrificial animals illegal.

Abbasi claims cattle traders are being charged Rs500 per cow, buffalo or camel, and Rs250 for every goat or sheep they offload. He gave the example of the provincial government, which had waived all levies on selling of sacrificial animals in Punjab. An application was moved before CDA officials, but no heed was paid to it, Abbasi added.

Illegal sale sites in Pindi

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi District Administration on Thursday placed a complete ban on the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals at any point other than those officially notified. According to a notification issued by Rawalpindi district coordination officer, a complete ban has been placed on the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals for Eidul Azha at sale points other than those notified by the district administration. The notification also added that in Murree, all cattle traders have been advised to refrain from erecting temporary shelters or installing tents in forest areas. Any infringement of these directions will be dealt with in accordance with the law, authorities said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th,  2015.