- House unanimously lauds mayor’s role in bagging Rs 13 billion in grants
ISLAMABAD: The local government representatives during the 22nd meeting of the Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad (MCI) let out their pent-up grievances over water woes, issues of rural areas, indifference of CDA officials, red-tapism in getting school admissions, questioning the performance of the minister for capital’s affairs among other issues here in what later on became a shouting match between the government and the opposition
During the session, MCI approved proceedings of the 21st session. I-9 Union Council Chairman Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan presented a resolution for lauding the efforts of Mayor Anser Aziz for getting approval of the funds amounting to Rs 13 billion. The House unanimously approved the resolution.
During the session, the MCI chief officer gave detailed briefing about the approval of the funds and different development projects. He said that the federal government was requested to allocate budget for different projects in the city. Funds more than Rs 13 billion have been approved for the corporation.
It is pertinent to mention here that these approved funds will be utilised on the Islamabad bus service, Rawal Lake water treatment plant, machinery for emergency and disaster management, construction of the town hall, construction of the union council offices, up-gradation of the Marghzar Zoo, beautification projects, parks and play grounds, sewerage and sanitation system, water supply scheme for rural areas, construction of connecting roads, sanitation services and other welfare projects.
During the meeting, it was discussed the fair price shops will be constructed in different sectors. Municipal Administration Director Ali Sufyan gave detailed briefing on this issue. On this occasion, the mayor said that the main objective of these shops was to provide fruits and vegetables to the local population at concessional rates. However, allottees of these shops did not follow the rules.
Due to this reason, some shops were sealed by the MCI and few allottees have obtained stay orders from different courts of law. It was agreed that the policy formulated by the House would be implemented in letter and spirit. Issues pertaining to rural areas were also discussed.
The House concurred that it was for the first time that the local body system was being experienced in the federal capital and representation from all parts of the city was present in the MCI. It is by utilising approved funds, the development projects would be initiated in rural areas of the city.
During his concluding remarks, Mayor Anser Aziz informed the House that the staff of the environment wing has been deputed to carry out cleanliness of the Muslim graveyards in H-8 and H-9 while graveyards of non-Muslim communities would also be cleaned during this campaign. The House also discussed the issue of allocating space for the graveyard in the rural areas.
Speaking at the occasion, opposition leader Ali Awan said that the CADD minister has been putting hurdles in way of MCI. “Since he (minister) has been invited to NAB, MCI has started to gather strength,” he said and highlighted the plight of poor residents of the rural area. Unlike previous times, the opposition didn’t stage a walkout.
The session of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad was held at the Pak-China Friendship Centre. The session was presided over by Mayor of Islamabad Sheikh Anser Aziz and also attended by the elected representatives.