August 03, 2007	Friday	Rajab 18, 1428

RAWALPINDI, Aug 2: In a rare show of solidarity, both the treasury and opposition benches of the Rawal Town Council on Thursday threatened to resign if the local administration was not given back the control of municipal services.

Councillors representing 46 UCs in Rawal Town staged a walkout from the council’s monthly session held at the newly- built Jinnah Hall to protest at the Punjab government’s decision of transferring the control of all revenue resources to the city district governments.

Members affiliated to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML- N) and the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) also put extended their support to the PML councillors.

Town Nazim Sheikh Rashid Shafique and the convener of the house, Chaudhry Farooq Azam, criticised the provincial government’s decision, while the opposition members offered to resist it by mobilising the people or challenging the move in a court of law.

They said residents of Rawalpindi city areas were facing numerous difficulties after the control of municipal departments was given to the city district government.

They questioned how could bureaucrats provide better civic facilities to the people than the elected town nazims and other councillors.

“I urge President Pervez Musharraf and Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to return the due municipal services to town administrations for the convenience of the people and in accordance with the laws of the local government system,” Rashid Shafique told the house in his speech.

A unique protest against the decision was observed when some woman councillors belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) celebrated the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry by distributing sweets and urged the Supreme Court to take notice of the move that had made the town municipal administrations “toothless”.

The Punjab government has decided to appoint new executive district officers (EDOs) in the five city districts - Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad - for handling the municipality affairs, which were earlier managed by the respective town administrations.

Rawal Town is the first town across the province which opposed the decision, while the adjoining Potohar Town has expressed its pleasure over the decision.

Meanwhile, the Rawal Town Council also approved development projects worth Rs110 million and award of contracts, besides directing the TMA’s enforcement squad to launch a crackdown against encroachers.

APP ADDS: The uplift projects were related to repair of streets, culverts, drainage and sewerage network, water pipelines, and installation of tubewells and filtration plants.

The council approved Rs10 million for installation of streetlights, Rs7.5 million for repair of streets and drainage system, Rs39 million from Annual Development Programme (ADP) and Rs28.5 million from the discretionary grant for installation of tubewells and water purification plants.