RAHIMYARKHAN:Stamppapervendorsareovercharging the people under the cover of the shortage of non-judicial stamp papers in district and tehsil courts of Rahim Yar Khan.

Dawn learned from litigants that there was a shortage of stamp papers of Rs50 and 100 in the district courts of Rahim Yar Khan and tehsil courts of Khanpur, Sadigabad and Liaqatpur. Vendors are selling a Rs50 stamp paper for Rs150 andaRs100paperatRs300.

One litigant, who introduced him with his first name Imran, told Dawn when he needed a Rs100 stamp paper for an affidavit document, the vendor sold him for Rs300.

Advocate Farhan Aamir told Dawn that stamp papers having revenue stamp of specific value like Rs20, Rs50, Rs100 and Rs200 were important legal papers for buying, selling and renting the properties. These papers are also used for power of attorney or signing agreements of financial deals, contracts and declarations.

Mr Aamir said hundreds of people would need such papers for sale deeds, domiciles, undertakings for educational institutions, birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce certincatesand zakatdeclarationsbuttheyhad to pay extra money for the papers.

A stamp vendor said only blue-eyed vendors would get a plenty of stamp papers from the district treasury office. He said the additional district collector (ADC) was responsible for monitoring authorised stamp vendors but the office had failed to do its job as many unapproved and suspended licence holders were also working openly on court premises.

The vendor alleged the partial release of stamp papers by the treasury office to favourite vendors had created a shortage of papers.

ADC Mahar Khalid, however, held the Printing Press of Pakistan officials and member taxes of the Board of Revenue in Punjab responsible for the shortage. He said he had written to them several times regarding the problem but failed to get any positive response.

He added he would take action against unauthorised stamp vendors working on district courts. From July, his office will update the list of licensed stamp vendors and provide it to the treasury office every month so that only genuine vendors could take stamp papers on merit, he said.

District Accounts Officer Muhammad Arif Jan told Dawn the Printing Press of Pakistan in Karachi had stopped printing the stamp papers below Rs1,000. The shortage was not Rahim Yar Khan specif as the whole Punjab was suffering from it. He said whenever his office forwarded the demand of 100 bundles, the Printing Press would issue only two or three bundles. -IRFANUL HAQ