PESHAWAR The NWFP cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft of a new law to replace the local bodies system introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf in 2001.

The draft Local Government Act, 2008, repealing the Local Government Ordinance (LGO-2001), was endorsed by the provincial cabinet in its 8th meeting held here with NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti in the chair.

`The proposed local bodies system is almost the replica of the local council system introduced in 1979,` said Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, while briefing journalists soon after the cabinet`s meeting.

The provincial cabinet discussed the draft of the Local Government Act, 2008 at length and now it was being sent to the federal government for further action, the minister said.

The local bodies system introduced in 2001 had been put in sixth schedule, which restricts provinces from making any amendment in the system without the approval of the president.

`We have done our job and now it is up to the federal government to act,` said Mr Hussain.

The minister said the local bodies, established in 2001, were based on a complex system, as there was no coordination among provinces, districts and the federal government. Similarly, there was no sense of ownership of public affairs in the system that`s why all the provinces were opposing it and wanted to improve it, he remarked.

The proposed act, he said, was aimed at strengthening the local councils, as the union councils would remain intact, while the province would be the in charge of the local bodies system.

Sharing the salient features of the proposed act, the minister said rural and urban divide had been restored, as rural areas would have two tiers including union councils and district councils, whereas in urban areas there would be municipal committees and municipal corporations.

Similarly, the local bodies` elections would be conducted by provincial election authority, to be established by the provincial government, on party bases. Also, establishment of accounts and grants committees to oversee financial system of the local councils were some of the important features of the proposed act, the minister explained.