DADU, March 29: The district council members here on Monday decided to tender their resignations if development funds were not released in 15 days by the Sindh finance department.

A resolution to this effect was unanimously passed by the council session presided over by convener Dr Zahid Hussain Jatoi. The members also resolved to hold protest demonstrations and observe hunger strikes before tendering their resignations with the district Nazim.

Speaking on the occasion, District Nazim Malik Asad Sikandar said said that a letter would be sent to the Sindh chief secretary to inform him that if the funds were not released in 15 days, they would resort to protest and finally resign.

He said that the finance department was not releasing Rs150 million of development schemes out of which schemes of Rs1.5 million were to be executed in each union council.

Mr Sikandar that the finance department and some Sindh government officials were creating hurdles in the release of funds for the last nine months. He said that funds of Khushhal Pakistan Programme, Drought Emergency Relief Assistance, Annual Development Programme and other heads had not also been released for seven months.

He said that the finance department had informed through a letter that it would not release the funds, and accused the department officers of creating hindrances because the district government had refused to pay commission to them.

He said that the Sindh government was least concerned about problems being faced by the Dadu district government due to lack of the funds. He referred to his meetings with the Sindh chief secretary who had promised release of funds but to no avail. He added that on 10 occasions, he had requested the Sindh governor for a meeting on the fund issue but to i vain.

The district Nazim admitted that he could not resolve problems of the people due to hindrances. Ali Mohammad Soomro supported the resolution, saying that they would boycott council session if development funds were not released.

Abdul Ghaffar Khero said that the members were ready to take to the streets. Deploring the fact that resolutions of the council were not implemented, Naima Baloch said not a single resolution had been implemented during the last 31 months and no development scheme was given to her UC.

The council decided that no member would attend its session till release of funds and copies of the letter to the chief secretary would be sent to President General Pervez Musharraf, the National Reconstruction Bureau chairman, Sindh chief minister and others.

Another resolution, adopted by the session and tabled by Mohammad Usman Jamali, said that the market committee, after getting hundreds of thousands of rupees, had awarded contracts to different contractors for collecting taxes despite ban on collection of taxes on the Indus Highway.

Saeed Jamali said that the traders were ready to pay taxes only in the jurisdiction of vegetable and grain markets as approved by the provincial government.

Ali Muhammad Soomro said that the market committee was already receiving taxes at taluka level. He said that the Sindh agriculture minister and secretary had directed the district administration to take action against contractors and officials of market committee for collecting illegal tax but no action had been taken yet.

The district Nazim announced that section 144, CrPC, would be imposed on collection of taxes on the highway. Through another resolution of Mohammad Paryal Birhamani, the session decided that show-cause notices would be issued to district government officials for not attending council sessions and avoiding implementation of the resolutions.

The session adopted yet another resolution of Raja Sikandar, calling for action against the Kotri police for allowing heavy vehicles on the Kotri bridge after receiving bribe from transporters. He said that it was causing damage to the bridge and demanded that heavy traffic should not be allowed on it.