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| July 18, 2006 | Tuesday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 21, 1427 |
Okara district council working unsatisfactory
OKARA, July 17: The district council in place since November last year has met only twice, with sessions spanning over five days, thanks to the disinterest of those heading the body
A member claimed that the district council had held sessions for only five days during the last seven month while it was mandatory for it to remain in session for at least 40 days in a year.
He said not a single resolution, out of dozens adopted by the district council, could be implemented for lack of interest on part of the district nazim and his naib.
With the `blessing’ of the Punjab government, Syed Asad Ali Gillani of Hujra Shah Muqeem and Rao Atif Sikander, the son of Defence Minister Rao Sikander Iqbal, were elected unopposed the district nazim and naib nazim, respectively.
A number of district council members, during the last budget session some 10 days ago, were also of the opinion that the two leaders of the house took least interest in the local government affairs.
The district government, which was bound to approve the budget before July 1, had approved it in the first week of July amid uproar, with members of the Tamir-i-Watan group led by former Punjab chief minister Mian Mazoor Ahmed Wattoo criticising the two leaders of the house.
The budget session had “given some importance” to nazims and district council members after the Tamir-i-Watan group provided them the much-needed impetus.
In the pre-budget session, women member Sajida Perveen from Renala Khurd tehsil had said in her speech that district naib nazim Rao Atif Sikander had never been seen in his office.
Similarly, on the first day of a two-day budget session, the naib nazim had adjourned it within five minutes after district nazim Syed Asad Ali Gillani completed his budget speech.
On the final day, members including, Rana Gul Nasir, Rana Basit, Rai Khalid Kharal, Mehr Abdul Sattar, Ali Nawaz Kirmani, Qaiser Manzoor Maneka, Muhammad Bin Qasim Wattoo, Chaudhry Shabbir Ahmad and some women, alleged that three out of seven laser-leveling sets had been lying out of order since long. While those in order were not in use for the reasons best known to the district government authorities, they said.
The performance of the forest department had also been disappointing across the district for the last two years. The fish farm hatchery, completed some six months ago with an expenditure of Rs8 million, has not so far become functional.
After the two meetings held by Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo with dozens of nazims and district council members in the first week of July, the rumour had it that a no-confidence motion was being floated against district nazim Syed Asad Ali Gilani.
To counter it, the district nazim and his Shah Muqeem group held an emergent meeting where a number of members reposed full confidence in the leadership of district nazim and naib nazim. However, the meeting realised that the undesirable situation arose due to lack of coordination with the district nazim that must be avoided in the future.
Speaking on the occasion, Shah Muqeem group chief Syed Afzaal Ali Shah Gillani had said that his group would never compromise with the Tamir-i-Watan group.
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