MANSEHRA: The chairmen of village and neighbourhood councils here on Monday warned that if funds for development projects and honorariums were not released before the start of the next fiscal, they would stage a sit-in in the provincial capital.

“The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government accepted all our demands in a meeting with the Provincial Action Council but hasn’t taken any action on them,” Chairmen Ittehad Council general secretary Basharat Ali Swati told reporters.

Accompanied by other members of the body, Mr Swati said the village and neighbourhood council chairmen from across the district met and unanimously passed a resolution for the immediate release of funds for development projects, honorariums, and office rents and utility bills.

“The chairmen of village and neighbourhood councils across Hazara division took oath of their offices in March 2022 but they’re still without rights promised in the Local Government Act, (Amendment), 2013,” he said.

Complain they’re denied rights promised in law

The council member said local bodies had yet to function properly as elections for the offices of the presiding officers in tehsil councils couldn’t be held during the last two consecutive years.

“These councils have so far not held a single session with the provincial government approving budgets for them on its own,” he said.

Mr Swati said the local chairmen also demanded early elections for tehsil council presiding officers to facilitate the approval of the next fiscal year’s budgets.

“Provincial Action Council of the Local Governments president Himayatullah Mayar is in contact with us and chairmen of the other village and neighbourhood councils in the province. We will soon announce plans for the Peshawar sit-in to force the government to take immediate action on our demands,” he said.

Meanwhile, traders in the Shinkiari area here on Monday called for the removal of encroachments from the Karakoram Highway.

“Illegal structures cause traffic jams on the KKH in Shinkiari and its suburbs,” Sarafa Association president Mazhar Bashir told reporters.

Accompanied by other office-bearers of the association, Mr Bashir said traders suffered the brunt of encroachments as motorists and passersby couldn’t move freely due to the blockade of traffic.

“We have taken this issue with the tehsil municipal administrator seeking an immediate removal of encroachments, but to no avail,” he said.

Mr Bashir said handcarts and other temporary encroachments were blocking the movement of road users.

“If the TMA doesn’t launch a crackdown on encroachments, we will be left with no option but to take to the streets,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2024