22 August 2004	Sunday	05 Rajab 1425

RAWALPINDI, Aug 21: Provincial minister for local government and rural development Mohammad Basharat Raja has said the daily wage employees of local bodies would be regularized in phases.

He stated this in a meeting with the representatives of All- Pakistan Local Government Workers Federation, including Ghulam Mohammad Naz, Raja Abdul Waheed, Pervez Chand and Mohammad Ishaq.

They presented a list of demands to the minister which included extending the chief minister's housing scheme to the employees of local governments.

The chief minister has announced initiation of a housing scheme for lower employees but the local bodies employees do not fall in the category.

The government of Punjab has exempted all retired government employees from house tax which, they said, was previously collected by the excise and taxation department. About half of these taxes earlier went to the revenue of local bodies which would now be deprived of this share, they added.

"We demand that the retired employees of local governments should also be exempted from property tax," they said.