ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Islamabad administration on a petition filed by traders of the fruit and vegetable market against the imposition of a Rs24,000 licence fee.

The petitioners also challenged the appointment of the administrator fruit and vegetable market.

Abdul Shakoor Paracha, the counsel for the petitioners, adopted before the court that the market committee was established under Section 7 of the Islamabad Capital Territory Agriculture and Produce Market Ordinance 2002.

Under the ordinance, he added, the traders were supposed to elect the committee, a governing body, to run the affairs of the market.

However, instead of holding elections, the CDA and the capital administration appointed Ghazanfar Shahzad as the administrator of the marl(et.

According to the petition, the administrator can only run the day-to-day affairs of the market and was not empowered to take major decisions.

However, it added, on October 29, 2015, the administrator asked the shopkeepers and traders to obtain new licences if they wanted to continue their businesses in the market.

The counsel told the court that the administrator without any justification had imposed the Rs24,000 licence fee on the traders.

He said the fee for a similar licence in the markets of the four provinces was not more than Rs1,700. He argued that the administrator had also warned the traders of legal action if they did not deposit the fee.

He said the administrator also awarded the car parking contract in the market to a firm for Rs9 million. The counsel requested the court to set aside the notice issued by the administrator for the collection of the fee. The petition also requested the court that the appointment of the administrator may also be set aside.

After the preliminary hearing, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued notices to the chief commissioner, deputy commissioner Islamabad, the chairman CDA and the administrator of the market committee. Further hearing of the matter was adjourned till November 6.