RAWALPINDI, Jan 5: A civil judge on Thursday directed the owner of Milan Marriage Hall to pay Rs50,48,000 as commercialisation fee to the Rawal Town municipal administration for using the residential building for commercial purpose. Spokesman for Rawal Town municipal administration Tahir Mehmood Khan told Dawn that the marriage hall situated on Murree Road had been sealed off. However, the owner managed to get a stay order.

On Thursday, legal advisor to the town, Agha Tariq, presented arguments before the judge, Irfan Saeed. After hearing him, the judge ordered the owner to pay Rs50,48,000 as commercialisation fee to the municipality, Tahir Mehmood said.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with the traders’ representatives, Nazim Sh Rashid Shafique said sanitation was the top priority of his administration. He assured the traders that the past culture of payment of bribes and commissions in the sanitation department had been done away with.

The sweepers and their supervisors have been directed to report to their union council offices for attendance and those who remain absent from their duties will be marked absent and deductions made from their salaries, he said.

In the past, most of the sanitary workers would pay a fixed amount of their salaries to their supervisors/inspectors in exchange for marking them as present.