ISLAMABAD, July 23: The government has decided to hand over control of local bodies to provincial governments.

This was announced at a meeting of parliamentarians presided over by federal Minister for Local Government Ghulam Ahmed Bilour.

However, the matter will be sent to parliament for formal approval.

The local government system was introduced in the year 2000. It replaced the 150-year-old system of magistrates. However, Lt-Gen (retd) Tanvir Naqvi — who was the first chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) which formulated the system — had expressed doubts about implementation of the plan and realisation of the desired results.

Tensions between provincial governments and local governments had surfaced on day one because local governments were managed directly by the federal government. But the situation has worsened since the formation of the present coalition government.

Jointly chaired by Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau Dr Asim Hussain, the meeting was attended by members of standing committees, MNAs, provincial ministers and secretaries for local government, representatives of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its projects – District That Works and Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project.

The minister for local government said: “We are not against the system of local government. However, we consider it as a provincial subject and believe that provincial governments should be allowed to deal with the subject according to their own circumstances. Moreover, it should be in accordance with the provision of 1973 Constitution.”

The dialogue was part of the ongoing efforts to involve stakeholders at the federal, provincial and local government level and academia in chalking out the future role of local government and relationship between various tiers of the government.

Provincial ministers and secretaries of local government of the four provinces and other participants took part in the discussion and agreed that the local government was a provincial subject and should be dealt with by the provinces.

Based on the suggestions, Mr Bilour observed that changes were necessary in the system especially to maintain law and order. However, the local government may retain the municipal function and local development under the overall supervision of provinces.

He stressed that there was need for national consensus and the national and provincial assemblies should be the only forum to debate local government reforms.