July 23, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, July 22: District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani on Tuesday asked the Tehsil Nazims to motivate people to form Citizen Community Boards (CCBs) so that the funds allocated for the purpose could be used.

All district, Tehsil and union council administrative structures, under the Local Government Ordinance 2001, are bound to allocate a minimum of 25 per cent of their annual development budget for CCBs before the start of new fiscal year.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf, earlier this year, had ordered all district governments to compulsorily spare these funds for the CCBs. The district governments had called for reviewing the decision in view of the financial constraints being faced by them, but their plea was turned down.

The CCBs are aimed at enabling citizens to actively participate in the development and non-development activities of the local government.

The boards were formed to ensure transparency and accountability in the development process through community participation in the projects. Instead of passive recipients, the communities were proposed to become active partners in development.

This year, Rs70.625 million was fixed for the CCBs in the Rawalpindi District Council budget. This amount can only be used by the boards, which are yet to be formed.