GUJRAT, Dec 29: The Kharian tehsil Nazim has criticized what he said “undue interference of the Punjab local government department in the affairs of the tehsil council.”

Speaking at a press conference at his office on Monday, Tehsil Nazim Chaudhry Nadeem Asghar Kaira claimed that the council had passed its budget for 2003-04 with a majority, but the local government department had been intimidating the members without any justification.

He said Tehsil Naib Nazim Chaudhry Javed Riaz had boycotted the budget session of the council on June 30 and announced that the session would be held on July 8 under his chairmanship. The session, however, was held on June 30 in which 31 out of 59 members voted in favour of Rs166 million budget.

It is pertinent to note that Nazim Chaudhry Nadeem Asghar Kaira belong to the PPP while Naib Nazim Dr Javed, who earlier belonged to the Jamaat-i-Islami, later joined the PML-Q.

He said the convener had submitted a written application with the LG department on July 22, alleging that the budget had been illegally passed, and demanded an inquiry into the matter. On July 24, a fact-finding inquiry team sent by the local government visited Kharian and conducted an inquiry. A revised budget session was held two days later and again unanimously passed, he said.

The Nazim said the annual development programme was also unanimously passed by the council members while a sum of Rs80 million was kept for the development projects and uplift schemes. He alleged that the local government department had not informed them about the finding of the inquiry team and after the passage of six months on Dec 24, it had directed them through a letter that they should send the budget proposals.

Criticizing the LG, he said the house was the only competent authority to pass the budget. He asked why did the higher authorities remain silent for around six months and start intimidating them at the time when the council has spent Rs38 million over development projects in the tehsil.

He also alleged former MPA Mian Tariq had encroached a costly piece of land of Kharian TMA in Dinga of worth Rs80 million, but no punitive action was taken against him despite repeated written complaints to several government functionaries.

He described it an act of victimization and demanded the Punjab chief minister and the governor to direct the local government not to interfere in the affairs of the Kharian tehsil council.