K-Electric authorised to collect municipal tax on KMC's behalf

• JI wants mayor to present KMC budget before City Council.
• House demands Sindh to pay pension, other dues of KMC employees.
• Deputy mayor rejects criticism over MUCT collection via KE.

KARACHI: Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) City Council approved a resolution on Monday allowing K-Electric to collect the Municipal Utility Charges Tax (MUCT) through power bills.

The resolution was tabled by the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) parliamentary party leader in the house, Najmi Alam, amid a noisy session, The News reported on Tuesday.

A previous attempt to authorise the power utility to collect the charges was blocked by the Singh High Court. In October 2022, the high court restrained the KE on a petition filed by a citizen.

However, the PPP managed to get the resolution approved despite stiff opposition from Jamat-e-Isalmi (JI) which announced moving a no-trust motion against Mayor Murtaza Wahab.

Moments after the council passed the resolution, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced tabling a no-confidence motion against Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, who chaired the City Council session.

In the general meeting of the City Council, another resolution was passed unanimously to demand that Sindh’s caretaker government pay pensions and other dues of retired employees of the KMC and the defunct district municipal corporations.

During the session, JI city chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned that his party would move courts if the KMC budget is not passed through the council.

He said Karachiites are not getting water even during winter, stressing that the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation should be run by elected representatives.

“Why is there a problem in bringing the KMC budget to the City Council session?” he asked.

He said that the budget that was passed by an administrator should be discussed in the council.

Responding to this, the mayor said that the law does not permit the reapplying of the budget through the council. He said he would announce releasing funds to the town, but he also has to see the KMC’s budget.

He also said that there has to be a debate on the MUCT.

Wahab stressed that only if the KMC gets funds would they be able to deliver. He made the assurance that no one would be allowed to resort to corruption in the KMC.

He welcomed development schemes from town chairmen.

Speaking at a press conference after the City Council session, Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad said they have given four months, making the assurance that the revenue of the KMC will increase.

Murad said they have invited the JI to serve the city together, adding that they had only objected to the MUCT collection through KE, but “will continue to try to solve all problems through mutual discussions”.

Alam said they want to conduct the City Council meeting by consensus.

“Some people came to disturb the meeting. It was the resolution to raise the revenue of the KMC that was objected to, and we responded according to the law.”

He said the MUCT was also levied during Mustafa Kamal’s and Wasim Akhtar’s respective tenures, adding that this tax is imposed for the betterment of the city.

“KE has the largest consumer network, so we want to recover bills through it.”