LAHORE, Feb 6: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has formed a special committee to improve the Local Government Ordinance 2001, according to Provincial Law Minister Raja Muhammad Basharat.

Replying to a supplementary question at the Punjab Assembly, the law minister said, the committee would put up its proposals to remove any lacunas in the ordinance regarding the authority clash between the provincial and district governments and funds’ issues.

To a written question put up by MMA’s Ehsanullah Waqas, he said, there was no law to take action against a district council, if it did not meet at least once a month as required under the rules of the current local government system.

He said the Lahore district council came into being on Aug 15, 2001, and only its 13 sessions had been held so far.

To another question, he said, some 804 development schemes were approved directly by the Lahore district Nazim and work on most of them had been initiated.

All formalities had been completed before executing work on these schemes while the staff concerned had been supervising the quality of the work, he added.

He said the Nazimeen, who were not given funds for their respective union councils, had a proper forum to protest. He denied the development funds had been released to any coordinator.

The minister said a huge amount was needed to execute work on all development schemes given by the elected representatives for various sectors in urban and rural areas of the city.

Replying to a Sheikh Amjad Aziz’s question, he said, keeping buffaloes in the corporation jurisdiction was an offence. He added that most of the milkmen took their animals out of the urban areas before sunrise and brought them back after sunset.