RAWALPINDI, Aug 30: The Tehsil council, in its monthly session on Saturday, dissolved all 14 monitoring committees for showing poor performance.

During the session, some members brought the attention of the speaker, Sajjad Khan, towards the ineffectiveness of these committees. They said these committees, including sanitation, encroachment, justice and building, had been formed in haste without choosing proper persons as their members. This is the reason why these committees have not shown any output, the members criticized.

On this, the speaker asked the house whether it wanted the committees to be disbanded, and the response was in the affirmative. The new committees will be formed in the next session.

Similarly, the speaker also relieved the former three presiding officers — Sumaira Gul, Chaudhry Malik Dad and Raja Amir Azeem — for being controversial and nominated other persons in their place.

Some of the Naib Nazims complained against the nomination of the new presiding officers, insisting that they be nominated in the next session through voting. They also staged a walkout in protest and accused the speaker of showing favouritism to some members.

The speaker, however, explained to them that under article 69 of the Local Government Ordinance 2001, nomination of presiding officers should be conducted on urgent basis to avoid confusion as to who was to preside over the Tehsil session in the speaker’s absence.

The house also unanimously approved contracts that had recently been auctioned. These are general bus stand, Pirwadhai, car parking, public entry fee, cattle fairs, slaughter house and others.

The house was informed that the Naib Nazims would be provided Rs0.5 million each to carry out development works in their respective union councils.

Earlier, the Nazim had kept all the development funds solely at his discretion. These funds would be spent on the construction of streets and drains.

Overall the session was peaceful except for small protests and sloganeering by some members.

The issue of banning tongas from the city limits also came under discussion. The speaker sympathized with the poor tonga- owners and directed the TMA officers not to touch any tonga till alternative jobs were provided to them.

These tongas are the only source of income for these poor people and in case these are snatched from them, they will find it difficult to earn their living, he told the house. On this, the house passed a unanimous resolution stressing that motor- rickshaws be provided to the tonga-owners before any action is taken against them.