PESHAWAR, May 16: The Peshawar High Court will take up for hearing on Tuesday a joint writ petition filed by 20 of the 24 district nazims in the NWFP against the provincial government.

The petitioners have challenged a number of steps taken by the NWFP government, including the formation of the NWFP Local Government Commission, posting and transfers of government officials without consultation and approval of the district nazim concerned.

The joint writ petition was filed four days back through advocate Qazi Mohammad Anwer, requesting the court to declare the continuous violation of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 2001, by the provincial government as illegal and against the law.

Except for the nazims of Upper and Lower Dir (both belonging to the MMA), Haripur and Swabi, the nazims of all the remaining districts of the NWFP are party in the petition.

The petitioners have also filed an application seeking interim relief to the effect that appropriate directions be issued that no officer in the district government in Grade-17 and above be transferred by the provincial government without consultation of the district nazim and further that the executive district officer (EDO) and the DCO may not transfer any employee below Grade-17 without the approval and information of the nazim till the decision of the writ petition.

The petitioners further requested that the NWFP Local Government Commission be restrained from functioning till the court's decision. The nazims have prayed the high court: "It be declared that Rule 25 & Schedule IV of the District Government Rules of Business, 2001, in respect of postings & transfers of employees are against the spirit of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 2001, and that the nazim being the head of the district government, no employee in grade-17 and above can be transferred by the provincial government from the district without his consultation and further that consultation has to be meaningful his views cannot be ignored without reason."

They further prayed the court to declare that in respect of the employees below grade-17 the executive district officer/DCO, etc., were obliged by law to seek the approval of the district nazim before issuing the posting/transfer orders of the employees within the district or beyond.

The nazims requested the court: "It be declared that notification No.AO/LG/LCB/5-55/2002, dated Feb 8, 2003, in respect of the constitution of the Local Government Commission is against the spirit of law and is, therefore, illegal and improper and appropriate directions/instructions to the NWFP provincial government either to review the notification or in the alternate constitute fresh provincial local government commission strictly in accordance with the spirit of section 131 of the ordinance.

"Moreover, it is requested that the revenue department being decentralized department has to function under the administrative and financial control of the district nazim and any directive by the Board of Revenue excluding the district nazim is illegal and in violation of the ordinance.

It is added that appropriate orders be given to the Board of Revenue for issuing proper notification that functionaries of the revenue department in the district shall function under the administrative control of the district nazim and patwaris, etc., be not transferred without approval/consent of the nazim."

The nazims have also challenged their removal from the district development committee and have requested the court to "declare that the notification No.SO(COORD/P&D/177/04/2003, dated March 26, 2003, of the NWFP government removing district nazim from the chairmanship of the district development committee is illegal and is against the spirit of the Local Government Ordinance, the same be set aside and it be directed that the district development committee is to be headed by the district nazim".

The petitioners prayed the high court to "declare that MNAs and MPAs are required to concentrate on legislation business in the legislature and should not interfere in the development schemes in the district and further instructions to the provincial government that public money be not wasted in the so- called allocation of the development funds to the MNAs and MPAs for utilization on their selective schemes".

The petitioners stated: "Since under section 18 of the ordinance the district nazim is to provide the vision and leadership for the district-wide development, therefore, the planning & development department be directed to give due preference to the development schemes in the district proposed and approved by the district government."

The petitioners are: Naseer Mohammad Khan, district Nazim of Charsadda; Pervez Khan Khattak of Nowshera; Azam Khan Afridi, Nazim City District Government, Peshawar; Mohammad Iqbal Khan of Bannu; Raza Khan of Mardan; Col (retired) Ghulam Mustafa of Abbottabad; Attaullah Khan of Batagram; Sarzamin Khan of Buner; Shahzada Mohiyuddin of Chitral; Latifullah Khan Alizai of D.I. Khan; Pir Haider Ali Shah of Hangu; Mohammad Sharif Khattak of Karak; Malik Asad Khan of Kohat; Maulana Obaidullah of Kohistan; Hamayun Saifullah Khan of Lakki Marwat; Engineer Hamayun Khan of Malakand; Ahmad Hussain Shah of Mansehra; Rashidur Reham of Shangla; Asfandyar Amir Zeb of Swat and Nawabzada Bin Yameen Khan of Tank.