RAWALPINDI, Nov 29: The Rawalpindi tehsil assembly on Thursday approved 15 contracts amid allegations and counter- allegations of fraud and nepotism by Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) officials in cahoots with some members.

The TMA officials were given a tough time as member after member demanded explanation for awarding contracts without prior approval of the tehsil assembly.

The members alleged that the contracts had been awarded by the TMA officials fraudulently to their kiths and kins. The tehsil municipal officer (TMO) tried his best to satisfy the elected representatives by presenting various excuses and facts, but the members continued their arguments, supported by various clauses of the Local Government Ordinance 2001.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that the TMO even pressurized the dissenting members, stating that agencies’ people were sitting in the House to identify those opposing the approval of the contracts. The District Support Team had also pressurized the dissenting members, the sources said.

“Let it be through voting. In this way, we will get the names of the members, favouring and opposing the contracts’ approval,” the TMO once told the House.

When the TMA officials failed to support the arguments with legal provisions in accordance with the LG Ordinance 2001, the elected representatives were about to stage a walkout, but the speaker, Sajjad Khan, intervened and asked the members to pass the contracts in the best interests of the TMA.

The absence of clear rules of business also created hurdles in the smooth functioning of the House as different members as well as the TMA officials were interpreting the same clauses of the Local Government Ordinance 2001 differently to support their arguments.

Accusations of promoting personal interests were also hurled at each other. Many of the members demanded that copies of the document of the Local Government Ordinance 2001 be provided to them to remove ambiguities. Some members also suggested that a seminar be organized in order to make the public representatives aware of their powers and various sections and clauses of the Ordinance.

Later, the members approved the contracts.

The approved contracts are: “building fees” and “commercialization fees in urban areas” worth Rs33.5 million; “slaughter house”, auctioned for Rs5.2 million; “Suzuki stand fees”, auctioned for Rs1.825 million; “professional tax” worth Rs0.135 million; “TV cable distributors for the year 2001-2002” worth Rs0.135 million; ‘car-parking fees city” worth Rs0.135 million; three contracts of “cattle market” at Chani Alam Sher, Parial, and Juria for over Rs10 million; “licence fees rural areas” worth Rs0.4 million; “building fees”; “NOC rural areas” worth Rs0.5 million; “advertizing tax rural areas” worth Rs0.325 million; and “cattle market Dhoke Hamidan” worth Rs0.1 million.