PESHAWAR, April 27: The scheduled meeting of the NWFP local government commission to look into problems in relations between district governments and their respective town councils has been postponed amid growing differences among different tiers of the local government , sources said on Tuesday.

The commission has asked the two sides to resolve their differences regarding liabilities and resource distribution without involving the commission to avoid dispute among various entities of the local government.

The commission will hold its next meeting on May 5. According to the agenda, the commission was to discuss matters related to district governments, town councils and also to look into the inquiry reports against three district governments - Abbottabad, Nowshera and Charsadda.

Commission members have recently probed into the misuse of powers and financial irregularities committed by the three district governments. The commission has already completed investigations against Town-III, Peshawar.

Under section 132 of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance 2001, the commission has to submit its report to the chief executive of the province after finalizing its findings.

Provincial Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Sardar Mohammad Idrees, who heads the commission, said that differences existed between district governments and town councils over financial matters, including resource distribution.

"The commission gave them a chance to settle their disputes out of the commission before next meeting," Mr Idrees said. He said that the commission did not want to impose its decision or became a party to conflict.

However, a senior official said under the local government ordinance, the commission could only discuss matters relating to various tiers of the local government but could not take any decision on its own.