SAHIWAL, Oct 11: The Sahiwal Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) has filed a writ petition with Multan Bench of the Lahore High Court against the local government secretary, district coordination officer and tehsil municipal officer’s ‘interference’ in the affairs of the tehsil council.

The TMA pleads that a Sept 11 notification by the local government secretary regarding the approval of 81 development schemes be declared illegal, unwarranted and void and the Punjab government be restrained from interfering in the affairs of tehsil council’s affairs, Dawn has learnt.

The TMA prepared its Rs300 million budget for the fiscal year 2008-09 on June 28, with Rs80 million for 81 development schemes. The Local Government Department directed Sahiwal and Chichawatni TMAs on June 23 that they must get clearance for all development schemes from the district development committee (DDC) headed by the Sahiwal district coordination officer.

The DDC is empowered only to check the duplication of development projects. It cannot transfer the development projects, to be undertaken by local government representatives, to MPAs and MNAs. The DCO, who was supposed to vet the tehsil council’s development budget at a DDC meeting before June 30, did not call a meeting for the purpose. Instead, he called Sahiwal Tehsil Nazim Umer Ishaq and asked him to share the tehsil council’s development budget with MPAs and MNAs. He continued his effort in this direction for three months, but the tehsil nazim did not agree.

Later, the DCO got these 81 development schemes approved from the local government secretary on Sept 11, altogether ignoring the tehsil nazim. As a result, the tehsil council’s development budget will be transferred to MPAs and MNAs, in violation of the local government ordinance.

This act of Punjab government officials, though exactly in line with the wishes of the ruling party of the province, infuriated tehsil council members.

The tehsil nazim called an emergency meeting of tehsil council on Sept 22 and got passed a unanimous resolution against approval of the development projects by the local government secretary. The tehsil council said its members, not MPAs or MNAs, should execute these development schemes. The DCO says: “I am simply following the Punjab government’s orders.”

In an ad in a national daily on Sept 29, the TMO sought tenders for the implementation of the 68 TMA schemes worth Rs80 million. Contractors have been asked to submit requisitions on Oct 11 and tenders would open on Oct 13.