HYDERABAD Aug 31: The All Sindh Taluka/Town Nazims Alliance has proposed to restore octroi tax and transfer funds, including 2.5 per cent share from general sales tax, directly to taluka municipal administrations.

It also called for increasing octroi tax by 15 per cent per annum.

The alliance was formed at a meeting of rural and urban Nazims held at a hotel here on Sunday.

The meeting said the share of octroi tax should be increased as the financial position of TMAs was very weak and each TMA owed salaries to its workers apart from payment of gratuity.

It demanded that a ban should be imposed on filing of no-confidence motions against Nazims or two-third majority be made mandatory for ousting Nazims.

The alliance appointed an interim body to take up issues of Nazims and TMAs till December after which election of the Nazims’ alliance would be held.

The body comprised Ghulam Mustafa Khaskheli (Samaro) as president, Abdul Jabbar Khan (Latifabad) as general-secretary, Nazeer Ahmad Shaikh (Larkana), Ali Gul Bozdar (Khairpur), Syed Noor Ali Shah (Umerkot) Farooq Farya (Karachi) and Lala Ayub (Tando Adam) as vice-presidents, Zafar Ali Shah (Dadu) as finance secretary and Khuda Bux Joyo (Dadu) as information secretary. The supreme council of the body comprised all the taluka Nazims.

As many as 17 district coordinators were also appointed for each district.

Another proposal said the ban on appointment should be relaxed and Nazims be empowered to appoint sanitary staff. It said two vehicles, one each for taluka Nazim and taluka municipal officer, should be provided, taluka officers (planning) be posted in each TMA, honourarium for taluka Nazims, members of taluka councils and union council Nazims be immediately paid.

The meeting suggested that magisterial powers should be delegated to taluka Nazims or separate magistrates be appointed for disposing of cases of TMAs through an amendment to the 2001 SLGO, the Police Order, 2002, be amended to enable taluka Nazims pay surprise visits to police stations, district governments should be asked to cooperate with TMAs in recovery of taxes as required under the SLGO, market committee fee be recovered by the TMA concerned, apart from other taxes.

It also demanded that district ombudsmen should be appointed, ban on regularization of kutchi abadis be relaxed, bye-election immediately be held for vacant seats of Nazims, the Local Government Commission be headed by a non-political person, approval of development schemes be sought from the Mushawarti Committee by the district government, chief minister, governor and chief secretary of Sindh should meet taluka Nazims regularly, National Reconstruction Bureau should provide guidelines to TMAs, Nazims and councillors be included in the district relief committee, Zakat and Ushr committees be devolved up to dehs level under the chairmanship of union and taluka council Nazims, women councillors be given separate budget and cattle markets’s matters be decided as per the SLGO.