MM News

KARACHI: District Municipal Corporation (DMC) East officers have received hefty bribes under the pretext of road cutting and caused hefty losses to the municipality.

Several officers of the Engineering Building and Road (B&R) Department at DMC East caused a loss of Rs43 lakhs to municipal under Additional Engineer (XEN) Iqbal Mallah who was recently transferred to the area.

A No Objection Certificate (NOC) was recently issued to a firm named ‘Cybernet’ for road cutting. The company is currently involving in 3,400 sq. feet road cutting in Sector 4A of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Zone near Patel Hospital.

The company’s Bashir Ahmed handled all issues and attempted to bribe himself out of the situation. Apart from the above mentioned road, around 3,200 sq. feet on a road between Sector 13B and Sector 13C is being encroached.

A senior engineer of the B&R Department, who is awaiting appointment, told MM News that the DMC East should have imposed a fine of Rs65 lakhs, while only Rs22 lakhs was deposited.

He said the officials of the municipality including Iqbal Mallah and Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) Rashid Fayyaz, in-charge road cutting and other technical employees are involved in corrupt activities. More than forty lakh rupees have been embezzled which have benefits officials including the suspended Municipal Commissioner Waseem Mustafa Soomro.

Iqbal Mallah was recently appointed as XEN B&R Department by the Sindh Local Government Department in violation of Supreme Court’s order. Many officers of the DMC East have been transferred to other districts while others have returned to the municipality.

Rashid Fayyaz, who was serving as deputy director, has been appointed AEE. He informed that all matters are been overseen by Administrator DMC East who is responsible for issuing NOCs and fines. Denying all allegations of corruption, he said the fines impose were justified and legal.