RAHIM YAR KHAN: The district council is trying to collect building plan and conversion fees worth Rs140 million from a private medical and dental college of Rahim Yar Khan.

The college administration has got stay orders from the civil court for the temporary suspension of notices.

According to a district council official, 27 d oct or s, including 14 professors of the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH), started construction of the RYK Medical and Dental College (RYKMDC) in 2019 near Chak 85-P on Abu DhabiRoad. They submitted an application to the district council through Mazhar Rafi for the approval of the building plan of RYKMDC to be built on 89 kanals on Dec 23, 2020, and due to delay, the enforcement inspector imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on the applicant.

In January 2021, the building plan was sent to the District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC) where then deputy commissioner Ali Shehzad imposed a fine of Rs1.25 million on the RYKMDC administration for constructing the building without an approved plan and its late submission.

The district council wrote a letter to the District Price Assessment Committee (DPAC) about the land value as the RYKMDC owners wanted to pay the building plan fee according to agricultural rates.

When in January 2023, theDPAC declared the rate of that area at Rs800,000 per marla, the district issued a demand notice on Feb 6 for a Rs140.71 million building plan fee to the RYKMDC administration which was to be deposited in 15 days.

In case of non compliance, the action was to be taken against the RYKMDC under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2022, and building bylaws of 2020.

As the RYKMDC administration did not deposit the fee in 15 days, the district council again issued a notice on March 3 that the non-compliance of the previous notice was a crime and the RYKMDC would be sealed, stamp locked and demolished and an FIR will also be registered.

The RYKMDC administration, however, got stay orders against the second notice and now its hearing will be on March 18.

The official claimed the com-missioner`s office was the proper forum for this case.

District Council Chief Officer Chaudhry Muhammad Shafiq told this correspondent that although the RYKMDC building plan was discussed in DPDC meeting, former chief officers and land enforcement staff let the RYKMDC owners delay the process. He alleged that the building owners influenced the enforcement staff and completed the construction of the building without approval and paying fees which were illegal.

He said the district council will fight the case.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Muhammad Farooq Waarind says that according to Punjab Civil Servants Conduct (Rules) 1966, a government employee, their spouse and dependent children cannot be the owner of a private business, director of a private firm or business organisation until the prior permission from the gov-ernment.

In the case of private medical college, the doctors of a public sector medical college cannot own a private medical college due to a conflict of interest, he said. The competent authority could terminate any doctor from service who is involved in owning the private medical college, he added.

SZMCH Principal Prof Dr Muhammad Saleem Laghari said he had no knowledge that 14 professor doctors of his institution were owners of a private medical college.

When he was informed about the notice about the owners (which also includes the SZMCH doctors) and Punjab Civil Servants Conduct (Rules) 1966 section 16, he said he could not take action against any doctor.

He said that he would give his stance on the issue after consulting the legal adviser of the SZMCH. Later, he chose not to respond.