PESHAWAR, June 1: There was no provision of appointing administrators or caretakers in the Local Government Ordinance 2001 and any such decision would be opposed and resisted, said Peshawar district Nazim Azam Afridi here on Tuesday.

“Any decision which the central and provincial governments take in drawingrooms without the consultation of district governments will not be acceptable to us”, Mr Afridi told newsmen at the press club.

He said that if administrators or caretakers were appointed then the fate of the local government elections would not be much different from the by-election of Malakand which was influenced by the government. He said that in District Peshawar he was elected by 1,830 councillors but this time the number of councillors were reduced to 1,000.

“I suggest that the district nazim should be elected by all the people of the district”, he said.

He said that local government system was introduced to get rid of 150 year-old system and if the government wanted another experience then there was no need to change the old system. The government, he said, should focus on the holding of local government elections on time.

Mr Afridi said despite meagre resources he tried to complete all development schemes during his tenure of four years.

“It was my wish to provide a gigantic drinking water scheme from Warsak Dam to fulfil the longstanding demand of the dweller of the city and I have reserved Rs10 million for it and the next district government will complete it”, he said.

He said that his government had solved the controversy of the Regi Model Town and the landowners had been paid for the land. “Within 11-month of our government we have allotted plots to government employees in this township and all formalities have been completed to start allotting plots to common citizen from August this year”, he said.

He said that unavailability of girls colleges was a big challenge for the district government which had been overcome by establishing four colleges.

“We have set up a girls college in the old Municipal Corporation building in which 1,200 girls were admitted in first year and after completion of construction work around 3,000 students would be admitted from the next academic session”, Mr Afridi said.

He said that work had been started on a hospital for women and children and first burns centre of the province’s would be completed soon. He said that for disabled children the existing school had been upgraded and now they would get education up to matric level.

However, he regretted that Gen Parvez Musharraf during his referendum campaign had announced a package for Peshawar but his promise was yet to be materialized.