RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation is conflicted over how best to utilise Rs600 million in development funding in the face of elected officials too concerned by rumours of changes in the local government system to propose development schemes.

The RMC approved its annual budget and allocated Rs600m for development work in 46 union councils in June. But after the PML-N was defeated in Punjab, union council chairmen have lost interested in the local government, expecting that the new government will change the system.

A senior RMC official told Dawn the corporation has asked elected members to submit development schemes so the process to approve them can begin, but they have turned a blind eye to the matter.

“Union council chairmen assume that the local government system will be changed, but it will be difficult to change it or amend the Punjab Assembly-approved 2013 Local Government Act with a simple majority, as a two-thirds majority is required for this,” he said.

RMC conflicted over how to utilise Rs600m development funding

The RMC will not spend money on development work without approval from the elected house for the construction of roads and nullahs or other civic issues.

He said the PML-N’s 40 union council chairmen did not appear interested in development work after the general election, and rarely visited the RMC for work. People who had contacted them regarding civic problems were advised to wait a month or two.

The official said many residents had contacted the RMC regarding broken roads and streets, but they had no choice but to ask them to wait for a formal meeting of the elected house that will likely be held in a week or two.

Since no meeting of the elected members was held at the RMC, many policy issues, including encroachment and the inspection of ongoing schemes, were pending.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has stopped new development work until the NA-60 by-election is held on Oct 14, but elected members can approve new projects to be launched after the election, he said.

“PML-N union council chairmen have lost interest in development work for two reasons: one, they are waiting for a change in the system, and two, they are paying attention to the by-election in the city,” a senior PML-N leader told Dawn.

The majority of the party’s elected members lost interest in local issues and paid more attention to personal work, he said, because an anti-PML-N environment had been created for the last year and most local leaders believed their efforts would be wasted as the results were understood.

PML-N leader and former MNA Malik Shakil Awan said the PTI government had spread rumours about changes in the local government system, which disheartened councillors and union council chairmen.

However, he too said a two-thirds majority in the provincial assembly is needed to amend the local government act. He said the PML-N would protect the system and its union council chairmen would become active after by-election and start serving people soon.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2018