LAHORE, Feb 18: A huge sum of Rs600 million has accumulated in the head of citizens community boards with the city district government of Lahore. Similar is the case with nine towns and 150 union councils of the CDGL as the idea of community-government partnership is not taking roots at a pace as anticipated before the launch of the devolution plan.

Under this arrangement, any community welfare related project can be initiated by a group of 25 citizens, called Citizens Community Board, with 20 per cent of the cost being incurred by the board and the rest of funding to be contributed by the relevant district, town or union administration as it is mandatory for all the three tiers of the local councils to allocate 25 per cent of their respective budgets for the purpose.

A study conducted by a National Reconstruction Bureau consultant identifies bureaucratic lethargy and political influence as major hurdles in the promotion of citizen community boards.

The Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE) needs to focus on government officials for sustainability and continuity of the CCBs movement as in the project approval phase Council Approval (with just 18 per cent approval rate) and in the implementation phase bureaucracy (with 38 per cent approval rate) pose a major constraint, says the study authored by Syed Sarfaraz Ali, NRB’s associate consultant.

It says that convincing the politicians is easier because of their proximity to grassroots, but the administrative machinery, driven primarily by self-interest, is more difficult to control.

Citing a World Bank study on the CCBs, it says the process of registration is very complicated as it requires excessive documentation for the purpose, while the need to classify CCB schemes is not being followed.

Another problem that leads to awarding of projects on political grounds is that there is no upper limit for a CCB scheme.

Due to lack of commitment among sectoral departments, their officials use delaying tactics in the cost estimation process, the study says.

According to it, at least 30,143 CCBs were registered by September 2006 across the country, including 15,106 in Punjab.

The report mentions that total funds available for the CCBs in the financial year 2006-07 are Rs9.32 billion as a major chunk of the allocation (Rs8.2 billion) goes to Punjab.

An analysis of the projects reveals that most of the communities are interested in investing in agriculture, soling (brick pavement), water supply, drainage, education, woman development and health schemes.

To tackle the issues being faced by CCBs at this stage, the report recommends a multi-pronged strategy which should focus on:

i) clarification in different sections of CCB rules;

ii) application of the institutional support package;

iii) development of a CCB network to exert pressure; and

iv) use of bar associations and press clubs to file legal suits and build public opinion respectively.

It observes that as monitoring committees have proved a major help for CCB projects implementation, therefore their capacity should be developed and their role should be strengthened further. —Amjad Mahmood