UC chairmen strongly protest against increasing encroachments

UC chairmen strongly protest against increasing encroachments

Rawalpindi: The Union Council (UC) chairmen in house session on Monday strongly protested against increasing encroachments in city. They lodged a strong protest over the absence of Municipal Officer Regulation (MOR) Pir Shehzab Gohar in session to address their complaints and suggestions in this regard.

The UC chairmen during house meeting have alleged that Municipal Officer Regulation is taking ‘bribe’ freely and openly, therefore encroachments increasing rather decreasing.

The City Mayor, Sardar Naseem has given 15 days to Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) officials to address complaints of concerned chairmen of union councils and to remove all encroachments from bazaars in 15 days. The meeting was chaired by city Mayor Sardar Naseem and Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) Chief Officer Syed Shafqat Raza.

During the session of the MCR, the angry members refused to approve the agenda of their previous meeting to protest the non-implementation of several resolutions which they had previously passed. But, the angry members became happy when MCR chief officer ordered to renovate outdated street lights of concerned union councils.

The house given approval to start work of eight projects of World Bank 2018-19 at a cost of Rs104,000,000 in Rawalpindi. The house has also given approval to complete work of total 239 schemes in different areas of Rawalpindi. The UC members have presented a resolution to establish a big graveyard and two buses for carrying dead-body in city which passed immediately.

The City Mayor in his address to UC chairmen said that former Punjab government had already allocated 200-kanal land to establish a graveyard. The former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif had started work on graveyard. But, construction work of graveyard was stopped for some months. “I will request to Punjab government to restart construction work on the graveyard,” he assured. He also said that I want to establish another graveyard for ‘minorities’ with 50-kanal land. He said that we have a bus for dead body and needed another bus for Pindites.

MCR Chief Officer Syed Shafqat Raza has assured all UC chairmen to address their complaints on priority basis.

All members of the house, irrespective of the party affiliation, protested against the absence of officials from the Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), and the municipal corporation during the session to hear complaints and suggestions of members. The proceedings of the MCR session got so rowdy and disorderly owing to the protests that it became impossible for Deputy Mayor to control the members. Members of the house also expressed their annoyance over convener’s failure to form committees consisting of elected representatives to manage different civic and administrative issues in the city.

Chaudhry Muhammad Zubair chairman UC-11 has strongly protested against Parks and Horticultural Authority (PHA) said that concerned civic body not taking interest to start renovation work of parks. ‘Qabza Mafia’ is continuously occupying parks but authority seeing the whole drama with closed eyes in this regard, he said.

Abid Abbasi chairman UC-18 said that encroachment mafia ruling all areas. He said that 10 per cent encroachments have increased rather decreasing.

Muhammad Yaseen Khan chairman UC-10 said that construction work on all projects has stopped for more than four months. Public is continuously visiting in our offices to start construction works but vain, he said.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/375535-uc-chairmen-strongly-protest-against-increasing-encroachments