SHC orders status quo on cattle colony fee collection auction

The Sindh High Court has ordered status quo on auction of three contracts for collection of fees from cattle points in the city’s Cattle Colony and Aansoo Goth areas.

The interim order came on a petition field by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) against auction of three contracts for collection of fees from cattle sale point in areas that fall in Landhi.

Petitioner’s counsel Sameer Ghazanfar submitted in the petition that the city mukhtarikar had leased out 752 acres of land to the KMC in February 1957 and since then the land was in possession of the KMC.

He said the local taxation director and the Malir District Municipal Corporation through an auction tried to open bids for three contracts for collection of fees from cattle sale points in Cattle Colony and Aansoo Goth areas. He contended that the action of respondents was violation of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013.

He said the Malir DMC had acted in excess of its jurisdiction by putting up for auction the contracts for collections from different sale points, which were the city corporation’s property. The lawyer said the power to auction the contracts rested exclusively with the KMC as per Item 4 of Part I of Schedule II of the Act.

Since the auction of contracts was not in accordance with the law, he said, the Malir DMC should be restrained from conducting the sale through auction which was being published in local newspapers.

The court issued notice to the Sindh advocate general and the DMC and called their comments by for July 18. The court, in meantime, ordered that parties shall maintain status quo in the auction matter.