KARACHI: Amendment to LG laws with President’s consent only: Naqvi
KARACHI, Nov 7: The chief of National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), Lt-Gen (r) Syed Tanvir Hussain Naqvi, has said that all the local government laws have been included in schedule-six of the Constitution and amendments to these laws can be introduced only if permitted by President Musharraf.
He was talking to newsmen at the end of a function of the Sindh Local Government Department and the National Reconstruction Information Management System (Narims) here on Thursday.
When asked whether Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen enjoyed constitutional safeguards, he replied in the affirmative.
The NRB chief expressed his hope that the Local Government system would sustain and flourish as the system was in the interest of the people and aimed at their uplift. “The people have owned this system and so is the case of the local government and the administration,” he remarked.
Gen Naqvi said that the system would not only move ahead but also improve.
About the development of Narims, he said the process had started at the time of working out the local government system and the very purpose of Narims was to bring in transparency in the system of governance.
This system, he added, was aimed at making available to the elected representatives all the information related to the governance. The administration and people should also have an access to this information, he opined.
The other aim, Gen Naqvi said, was that justice be available to all.
When asked about the reason for his resignation as the NRB chief, he replied, “I now want to concentrate on my personal matters.”
Earlier, speaking as chief guest at the function, Syed Tanvir Hussain Naqvi, stressed the need for fostering rural-urban integration.
“This is not going to happen by itself and the dynamics will be of the town Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen,” he said adding that an initiatives will have to be undertaken for the purpose and the people will have to be taken along.
He pointed out that such a task could be executed in just a day’s time but the first step should be taken towards it.
Describing the condition of katchi abadis, Mr Naqvi said # they were just like ‘villages’ within the cities. Their uplift, he said, would also be a part of the rural-urban integration.
He observed that permanent villages existed in the outskirts of Karachi such as Malir and Lyari districts and their integration could be undertaken by developing locally the municipal facilities and then there should be central linkages.
He also stressed the need for improving town planning and said proposed setting up of agencies for master planning at city and town levels. Such agencies should be established by the respective administrations, he added.
Gen Naqvi maintained that the all the efforts of the NRB were for the reconstruction of the state’s institutions and the re-establishment of a genuine and sustainable democracy through a durable good governance so that the power could be transferred to the people.
The NRB is also an institution which is not at all going to collapse, he remarked. He was confident that Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen of cities, districts and towns would keep this institution intact and carry it forward.
The Bureau, he said, would now be functioning at the Prime Minister’s secretariat and there would be similar institutions in every province also.
Gen Naqvi rejected the doubts which, he said, might be in the minds of many, that legislators at the federal and provincial level could have jealousy with Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen. Even if this happened, he added, it should remain within a limit.
He expressed his optimism that the Karachi City District would develop itself as an example for the entire country.
About the National Reconstruction Management Information System, he said that Narims was brought as a major support system for running the local government system.
He also pointed out that Karachi Development Authority is an example of decentralization in this city.
A decision has been taken by the Cabinet with regard to the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) but the order has not been issued, he revealed adding that same is the case with the Karachi Building and Control Authority (KBCA).
He drew the attention of the Sindh Governor, Mohammedmian Soomro, who was present on the occasion, to the situation and said that in the next one week or so, this should be done and a notification be issued so that the system could move forward.
Gen Naqvi proposed office of the municipal judicial magistrates to be identified by the provincial government after consulting the judiciary.
The governor, in his speech, said that the very purpose of the devolution concept is to improve the standard of living of common man.
He said that the concept was also aimed at strengthening institutions and enhancing their performance. The accountability element was also there, he added.
Mr Soomro mentioned the programme of reforms in police department and said that the prosecution and investigation branches have already been separated.
With reference to the information technology, he also praised the Narims and said that the system would help improve the governance and cut the administrative expenses. He commended the performance of Sindh IT Board.
The governor held out the assurance that devolution of the KWSB and KBCA would be undertaken soon.
On this occasion, the NRB Director General, Mr Wasiullah, explained in detail the salient features of Narims.
Mohammad Yahya Waliullah, the IT head of City District Government, Karachi; the City District Nazim, Karachi, Naimatullah Khan; and the Nazim of Gulberg Town, Farooq Naimatullah, also spoke on the occasion.—APP
