Rawalpindi - Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi Bench, yesterday directed Rawalpindi administration to remove all the illegal parking lots from the city, particularly the encroachments made by the showroom owners on Benazir Bhutto Road.

LHC Rawalpindi Bench Justice Ibad-ur-Rehman Lodhi issued these orders while hearing a contempt of court plea against city district government and police bosses for not removing the encroachments from the city.

Earlier, Bara Trade Union representative Akbar Khan appeared before the court and said that enforcement staff of Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) is involved in getting illegal gratification from encroachers of Bara Market, Raja Bazaar, on regular basis. He alleged that the encroachments could not be removed from the busy market as long as the enforcement staff continued taking bribe from the shopkeepers and traders.

He appealed to the court to take action against the RTMA high-ups. He said that he had provided the evidences to the TMO and the DCO but no action had been taken. Justice Lodhi asked DCO Talat Gondal, who was present in the court, to listen to the trader and take stern action against the responsible staff. Appearing before the court, the DCO, executive officers of Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Boards Dr Saima Shah and Rana Rafique respectively, administrators of Rawal and Potohar Towns, and a senior official of Rawalpindi Development Authority submitted their reports regarding their anti-encroachment operations. Justice Lodhi appreciated their efforts. The court asked the city managers to remove all encroachments permanently by December 23 and file detailed reports.