02 November 2004	Tuesday	18 Ramazan 1425

HYDERABAD, Nov 1: District council convener Nawab Rashid Ali Khan on Monday said the National Reconstruction Bureau should amend the Sindh Local Government Ordinance before next local bodies elections , the requiring district nazims to preside over council sessions.

Nawab Rashid said performance of councils had remained ineffective. He said presently the district government and the council were working as separate institutions.

The convener asked Rana Mehmood Ali Khan to prepare a detailed report, incorporating such proposals, to be presented to the NRB.

He said members elected either directly or indirectly should be treated equally and they should be given honourarium and development funds.

He said the Sindh government should take action against district government officials violating the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, and ban their promotion and postings.

The convener said no EDO had presented annual reports of his department before the council which was mandatory and added that officials of the work and services department were undertaking works at their will without caring for approval by the council.

He further said the Thandi Sarak was being constructed by using asphalt machine but without resolving the sewerage problem. He added that works on other schemes had not been started because contractors of these schemes were blue-eyed people of the officials concerned.

The EDO, works, briefed the members but he was not able to satisfy them.