A blatant difference was witnessed between treasury and opposition benches on the issue of fixing a single leasing rate for the notified Katchi Abadis falling under the jurisdiction of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), at the second meeting of the city council on the issue held at city council hall on Wednesday.
In the absence of City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil and also electricity, council meeting was presided over by the senior presiding officer Masood Mehmood, while several members from either side were also absent.
Masood Mehmood resumed the meeting to discuss the matter in detail that whether the leasing fee for notified katchi abadis should be increased or be kept the same as previously, and the implication of applying different leasing rates.
The treasury members advocated the increased and fixation of different rates for different areas of. katchi abadis falling in the jurisdiction of Defence House Authority (DHA) and would be different from Keamari, Lyari, Orangi New Karachi etc.
They also said that keeping in view the rapid increase in prices of construction materials, the CDGK government also felt to lease the katchi abadis with increased rates in order to ensure the provision of basic civic facilities to the inhabitants of such katachi abadis.
While the opposition members rejected the city government plan for leasing the katchi abadis with increased rates and demanded of City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal to keep the old leasing rates in the greater interest of Karachittees.
Opposition members were of the view that due to high inflation, poverty, and unemployment, the people of katchi abadis could not afford the increased leasing rates therefore the CDGK should take the problems of poor class into account, while formulating the policies.
Members from the treasury bench said that the people living in katchi abadis are well-to-do and earning money through illegal means all over the city. They said these people could afford the increased leasing prices and the resolution forwarded by members from treasury bench should be adopted with the majority of votes without further delay.
They also accused that the drug and land mafia had their hideouts in the katchi abadis, while a few poor people only were the inhabitants of katchi abadis in the city. They further added that in the katchi abadis illegal businesses were running.
The meeting could not reach any consensus to adopt the resolution, however, a condolence resolution was adopted regarding the death of opposition member Abdul Razziq's mother and killing of eleven people in the accident in Orangi town. The council also offered fateha for deceased. Masood Mehmood then adjourned the meeting till June 1, 2006. It was observed that for most of the time the meeting remained in pandemonium.
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