PESHAWAR, May 22: The city district government has been urged to disburse funds to the union councils as the NWFP government has already released Rs18.4 million in the head of octroi tax.

The demand was made during the ongoing session of the city district council, which resumed its proceedings here on Thursday. Convener Dr Iqbal Khalil presided over the session.

Speaking on the occasion, Hasnain Gillani, a union council Nazim, said that the city district Nazim Azam Afridi had been assured by the provincial finance department that payment of the remaining octroi tax dues amounting Rs50 million would be made within the next few days.

Stressing the need for early disbursement of funds, he said that it would enable the union councils to carry out development work in their respective areas, adding that it had been delayed due to shortage of funds.

The funds, it was learnt, released after the district council members staged a walkout on Tuesday to press the provincial government to release funds it had withheld citing a default on payment to Wapda against electricity dues.

Members of the city district council also criticised the statement attributed to chief of the Jamiat Ulema- i-Islam-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman flaying the role of the district governments in the province.

Another union council Nazim, Miss Shamim Qaiser, tabled a resolution supported by other council members urging the JUI-F chief not to issue such press statements as they created confusion and destabilised the local government system.

Instead, she said, the Muttahida Majli-i-Amal government should transfer powers to the district governments to strengthen the new system in the province.

Later, city district Nazim Azam Afridi said that it was surprising that the JUI chief had issued such a statement when chief minister of the NWFP Akram Khan Durrani, also a member of the JUI-F, had appreciated the district government’s performance during the recent meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum.

The council proposed that the Regional Transport Authority should regularly review the transport fares, matching them with fluctuations in the petroleum products.

It noted that the RTA had failed to make transporters to adjust their fares despite considerable reduction in POL prices.