GUJRAT, Nov 9: The city of Gujrat has reverted to the status of a municipal committee as the notification declaring it a municipal corporation could not be implemented owing to “procedural shortcomings in completing the delimitation of urban union councils”.
Also, the municipal committee status of the town of Kunjah could not be implemented. Kunjah will remain a single union council rather than of an MC. The district government has divided the town into 11 wards.
According to a notification issued by the Election Commission, the local government elections will be held for Gujrat Municipal Committee. The ECP has appointed Gujrat Tehsil Municipal Officer Khurram Warraich returning officer of the Gujrat MC and tehsil officer finance will be assistant returning officer.
DCO Asif Bilal Lodhi, who has been appointed district returning officer by the ECP, told Dawn now the elections for Gujrat municipal committee’s 50 wards would be held rather than of the municipal corporation since the LG department could not issue the schedule of delimitation for the urban union councils of the recently notified corporation.
He said Kunjah would remain a union council since the schedule of the delimitation had not been issued.
Earlier, the district administration and local cadres of the political parties were confused over the status of Gujrat city’s municipality.
Elections for 118 rural union councils and six municipal committees of the district -- Gujrat, Jalalpur Jattan, Lalamusa, Kharian, Dinga and Sara-i-Alamgir -- will be held on Dec 7.
Two rural union councils of the total proposed nine UCs of Sara-i-Alamgir tehsil have been reduced in the final list of the delimitation issued by the Gujrat DCO after approval by the Gujranwala commissioner.
Five EDOs of different departments, three assistant commissioners, TMOs and other officials have been made either ROs or AROs. Each RO has been tasked with conducting the election process of at least eight union councils.
A meeting of the returning officers was held at the District Government Complex, with DRO Asif Lodhi in the chair, where the arrangements for holding the elections were discussed.
District Election Commissioner Majid Sharif Dogar told Dawn that the voter lists had been prepared and were being handed over to the returning officers.
