PESHAWAR: In an attempt to reinvigorate the district administration and improve coordination between the civil administration and police, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has issued guidelines to enforce regulatory laws to control prices, check adulteration, unhygienic food, spurious drugs, and efficiently handle such issues directly related to the people’s lives.

The relevant officials told Dawn that the Performance Management and Reforms Unit (PM&RU) at the chief secretary’s office issued those standard operating procedures with a view to demonstrate to the deputy commissioners how effectively they could use their powers and lead district administration in close coordination with the law-enforcement agencies.

The development came at the heel of a marathon meeting of chief secretary Mohammad Azam Khan with all deputy commissioners of the province, including the vast majority of those posted recently, for developing a mechanism to address the people’s complaints.

However, officials say, it soon transpired that many of the young officers lacked the requisite field experience and knowledge of various regulatory laws that empower these officials to exercise their powers to address the pressing public complaints.

Suggests ways to check prices, adulteration, unhealthy food, spurious drugs

Senior officials attribute that to the Gen Musharraf era’s devolution plan, whose execution rendered the district administration toothless and ineffective.

“The deputy commissioners lost their teeth following the end of the magistracy system back in 2001.

Now, it has boiled down to the extent, where you have to tell them to how to do their jobs,” the source said.

A government document available with Dawn noted that SOPs were designed to spell out fundamental and recurring actions of the district administration and ensure effective coordination with the district police for that purpose.

It spelt out regulatory framework and execution timeliness for at least 13 civic and health related issues including price control, hoardings, adulteration, sale of unhygienic milk and other edibles, anti-encroachments’ removal of illegal speed breakers, illegal mining, illegal pharmacies/quacks, spurious drugs, substandard pesticides, regulation of hotels and restaurants and illegal archeological excavations.

The execution timelines stipulate that the deputy commissioners would intimate the district police officer three prior to the action in almost majority of cases, excluding anti-encroachment drives and stopping illegal archeological excavations.

For the purpose of anti-encroachment drive, the DC would inform the DPO a week in advance while to stop archeological excavation there would not be any timeframe and swift action would be taken soon after police is intimated.

In all these cases, DCs will have supervisory role, while the DPO will have the supportive role of providing force at the time of action.

The document also spells out the role of the stakeholders including DCs, police and district departments in this process.

Explaining the role of DCs, the document notes that their all regulatory functions shall be scheduled in consultation with line departments and DPOs.

It also calls for preparation of weekly/monthly/quarterly action, which needs to be all inclusive in terms of nature of regulatory function and shall be shared with the police three days prior to the action via a liaison officer.

DCs would also be responsible for nominating a liaison officer or focal person for establishment of direct communication channel and sharing his contacts with the office of the DPO.

As for the role of police, the document laid downs that the DPOs would frame standard deployment plans for these activities on case to case basis.

The police authorities would also chalk out standard deployment plan for unplanned events like disasters and law and order situations.

Police would share its deployment plan with the DC office after receiving activities plan.

For their part, all the line departments in the district shall devise their plans as per their regulatory function and it shall be framed in consultation with the DC so that the same is incorporated in district administration consolidated work plan.

However, these departments will be bound to complete all ground work in terms of identification, codal formalities and other operational and logistical requirements before seeking the DC’s support.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017