KARACHI: The Sindh local government department formally notified the number of union committees (UCs) for the metropolis by decreasing a single seat from what had been proposed by the city administration, it emerged on Tuesday.

The city’s administration had proposed 244 UCs for the city after settling more than 1,000 objections on an earlier proposed 216 UCs last weekend. With a tweak, the number of city council was decided to be 243 with the largest number in Karachi East, which also represents the newly-formed Korangi district.

The provincial law minister said that so far there was no separate district municipal corporation (DMC) for Korangi district and it would be represented in DMC-East till the city’s LG map was legally amended.

The official breakdown for the UCs of the five districts is: Karachi East (66 UCs), Karachi Central (61 UCs), Karachi West (51 UCs), Karachi South (45 UCs) and Malir (20 UCs).

The Karachi District Council (KDC), which controls the city’s rural areas, will have 21 union councils in Malir and four in Karachi West.

The city council’s total strength – estimated after the disposal of objections on the proposed delimitations – would be 321, which is 36 more than the previous consolidated figure of 286 with the inclusion of the mandatory women and labourers/peasants seats.

According to the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, passed and signed into law in August, the city’s metropolitan corporation members would include all elected chairmen of the union committees of the five districts of Karachi.

This shows the city council will have 243 members, elected as chairmen of their respective UCs.

The law further states about the reserved seats in the council to the extent of 22 per cent for women members, 5pc for non-Muslim members and 5pc for labourers or peasant members to be indirectly elected by the members elected in general vote.

Translating the percentage into numbers with 243 elected members, the council will have at least 54 seats for female members and 12 each for labourers and religious minorities.

In the proposed set-up the city council’s 243 general members are significantly higher in number than the 178-member council during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s regime.

Before Gen Musharraf’s controversial LB system, the KMC’s council consisted of 262 councillors who would elect their mayor and deputy mayor.

In the system introduced by Gen Musharraf’s regime, which remained effective from 2001 to 2009, the KMC was renamed as City District Government Karachi with each of its KP (Karachi Panchayat as it was called then) or constituency – 178 in total – had been made a union council with 21 members with a nazim and a naib nazim.

In the new Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, passed and signed into law in August, the KMC took its old title back and union councils have been made union committees in its urban areas.

The city’s district council has also been revived to cater to the rural parts on the fringes of the city.

Each UC would comprise a chairman and a vice chairman as joint candidates, four general members and one member each on woman, labourer or peasant and non-Muslim seats.

The elected chairmen of the UCs would be members of the KMC council.

The metropolitan corporation will elect a mayor and a deputy mayor from among its members elected.

The same formula will be adopted for the five DMCs of the city. Thus, each DMC council will have the strength on the formula with 22pc women seats and 5pc each labourers or peasants seats as follows: Karachi East (87 members), Karachi South (59), Karachi Central (80), Karachi West (68) and Malir (27 members).