PESHAWAR, Nov 29: The government on Friday notified setting up 14 municipal committees in Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) under a special initiative designed to transform the tribal areas into urban hubs.
A notification issued from Fata Secretariat said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor had sanctioned constitution of municipal committees in 14 urban hubs identified under Tribal Areas Rural-to-Urban Centres Conversion Initiative (TARUCCI), which the government had already approved early this year.
One each municipal committee will be set up at Khar in Bajaur Agency, Ghalanai in Mohmand, Landi Kotal in Khyber, Kalaya and Ghiljo in Orakzai, Parachinar and Sadda in Kurram, Miranshah and Mirali in North Waziristan, Wana and Sarwakai in South Waziristan Agency.
Likewise, similar bodies will be set up in Darra Adamkhel in Frontier Region Kohat, Jandola in FR Tank and Darazinda in FR Dera Ismail Khan.
Each municipal committee will be consisting of 20 members, including six general councillors, one each councillor from peasants, traders, women and minorities. They will be elected through elections, procedures for which will be notified later on.
Similarly, four elders nominated by Fata Secretariat as councillors, additional political agent, chief officer of municipal committee, executive engineers of communication and works and public health engineering, DFO and agency agriculture officer would also be its members.
The chairman of the each municipal committee will be elected by simple majority from amongst councillors and tenure of the chairman, elected and nominated members except ex-officio members will be three years from the date of taking oath, according to the notification.
The additional political agent will be the vice-chairman of each municipal committee.
Till proper delimitation of wards for election to the municipal committees is not carried out, the political agent concerned will act as the chairman of the committee.
Referring to functions and powers of the municipal committees, the notification said that those bodies would be responsible for framing, managing and executing development plans for the town, exercising control over land use, land development and zoning, enforcing all municipal laws, rules and bylaws governing its functions. Moreover, these bodies will provide, manage, operate, maintain and improve municipal services, propose and collect taxes, cess, fees, rates, rents and tolls besides carrying out commercial activities on its property.
“These bodies will also prepare financial statements and present them for internal and external audit, regulate affixing of signboards and advertisement and any other functions assigned by the government,” the notification said.
The notification also specified the standard services, a municipal committee had to provide and maintain in their respective areas of responsibilities. These include water supply and sanitation, streetlights, small roads and footpaths, building codes, fire brigades, maintenance of small parks, slaughterhouse, garbage collection and dumping grounds, bus and truck terminals etc.
The Directorate of Local Government Fata will be the administrative directorate for all affairs connected to the municipal committees in tribal areas. Similarly the same directorate will also form a separate cadre for the employees of these committees including the permanent workers.
The Director of Local Government will frame detailed bylaws for municipal committees including bylaws on financial and administrative management, enterprise development and market regulation, building codes, legality and penalties and other allied matters.
Through another notification, political agents and the Director Local Government Fata had been directed to take immediate measures to declare the urban growth boundaries and jurisdiction of the municipal committees.