KOHAT: The tehsil municipal administration is sustaining millions of losses due to refusal by tenets to vacate hundreds of shops for re-auction, whose multiple leases of 33 years each expired in 1985, 1988 and 2017, respectively.

Hundreds of shops in Jinnah Plaza, Kotal Plaza, Tehsil Market, fruit and vegetable market and flea market had been leased decades ago.

TMA taxation officer TMA Bashir Ahmed said 350 shops were leased out in 1947 and 1948 in the Main Bazaar and adjacent areas at negligible rates according to land prices prevailing at that time. He said the lease holders were not ready to even accept the revised rent.

He said the administration had provided free land to people, who constructed shops on it, but were not ready to vacate them despite several notices. “Now the occupants are laying claim over these shops on the premise that they had constructed them,” he said.

He said the occupants were asked to pay Rs70,000 and Rs20,000 per annum for different sizes of shops, which amounted to Rs5,000 and Rs1,600 per month against market rent between Rs40,000 and Rs15,000 per month.

He said the local council board had ordered re-auction of all the 350 shops in 2021, but the then provincial minister Umer Ayub had stopped the auction.

FARES DOUBLED: The transporters have doubled the fares between Kohat and Sadda tehsil of Kurram district on the excuse of the closure of CNG stations.

They are charging Rs600 for one side against the government rate of Rs294, issued by the Regional Transport Authority.

RTA chairman Mohammad Shoeb told Dawn on Sunday that the absence of CNG was no grounds to raise fares because they had already given rates of petrol and diesel to local and inter-district transporters.

He said RTA had launched a crackdown on such transporters and returned the extra money charged by them to the commuters.

PRICES OF MEAT, FRUITS JUMP: Due to absence of any check by the official price control committee and food department the fruit sellers are charging the buyers different rates.

Butchers have also raised prices of beef to Rs800 per kilogram and mutton to Rs1,500 per kilogram.

Likewise, prices of different fruits and vegetables also vary from shop to shop depending on how much rent they have to pay.

Guava was being sold for Rs250 per kg against the official rate of Rs170 per kg. Pomegranate of Afghanistan is being sold at Rs400 per kg instead of Rs340 per kg, banana Rs200 against Rs150 official rate.

Kinnow, whose rate has been fixed at Rs200 per dozen, is available for Rs300. Apple golden is sold for Rs300 per kg against Rs250, white Rs220 instead of Rs170 per kg. Swati red orange is sold for Rs350 per dozen against the official rate of Rs300 per dozen.

Published in Dawn, January 23th, 2023