ISLAMABAD, Oct 1: The National Assembly standing committee on local government and rural development on Friday asked Ministry of Local Government to get the Municipal Training and Research Institute (MTRI), Karachi, vacated from the occupation of anti-terrorist courts, NAB and other agencies as soon as possible.

The committee, which met under the chairmanship of MNA Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, observed that the MTRI was the only institute of its kind in the country and its training operations had been suspended for the last few years. The committee also called upon the federal minister for law to play his role in this regard.

The committee expressed its concern over the delay in release of Tameer-i-Wattan Funds by the local governments. It asked the ministry of local government and rural development to look into the matter so that the procedural bottlenecks were removed and the flow of funds was smooth and speedy.

The committee observed that the Public Works Department had lost its utility and there was no need to study the justification of its existence. It took strong note of absence of the PWD director-general and directed him to ensure his presence in the next meeting.

The development projects of Nowshera area were also discussed in detail. The chairman instructed the authorities to ensure speedy completion of the same.

The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Local Government Zafar Iqbal Warraich, Minister of State for Law Chaudhry Shahid Akram Bhinder, MNAs Zeb Gohar Ayub, Shahzadi Umerzadi Tiwana, Khurrum Munawar Munj, Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan, Ministry of Local Government secretary and senior officers of the department concerned.