HYDERABAD, Nov 13: Members of the District Council from rural areas on Wednesday blocked the passage of a resolution calling upon the government to form a city government comprising three Talukas — City, Latifabad, and Qasimabad.

The session appeared divided on rural and urban basis when the members who were opposing the resolution claimed that it would be harmful for them because they belonged to rural areas.

Following an uproar by the members, the resolution was deferred for discussion after the debate on the annual address of the district Nazim, Dr Makhdoom Rafik-uz-zaman, was over.

The resolution was tabled by Abdul Majeed Wahidi. It was endorsed by Qazi Abdul Qadeer, Yousuf Qureshi, and Ibrahim Chishti.

It was stated in the resolution that as per provisions of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, the city government should be formed in the city which has a population of one million.

It was argued that many cities which did not fulfil the said criteria were having city governments in the country.

The resolution demanded that the areas falling in the municipal limits should be declared city government in the light of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance.

The session deferred the debate on the district Nazim’s speech for Thursday as the latter had left for a sugar cess meeting.

In his brief speech before the session, the district Nazim said that it was good news for the members that his proposal of city-district government had been accepted by the National Reconstruction Bureau.

He said that he had been working on the issue for the last four months, holding discussions with the Sindh governor.

Finally, he said, the NRB chairman, Tanvir Naqvi, talked to him saying that his proposal had been accepted.

He said that according to his proposal the city-district government would comprise 16 towns, and added that it would be helpful for the district.

Reading out the resolution, Yousuf Qureshi said that given the size of the population two city governments could be formed in the city, and added that three Talukas of Qasimabad, City, and Latifabad should be divided into two Tehsils and the city government should consist of six Tehsils, whereas the remaining areas would get the status of towns automatically.

He said that it would not only benefit city areas but also rural areas.

Labour Councillor Rana Mehmood Ali Khan and Babu Ramzan Arain also supported the idea saying that the Karachi city government was working smoothly and without any hindrance.

Strongly opposing the resolution, Nabi Bux Lund, Farheen Mughal, Fatah Ali Sonaro, and Ali Nawaz Kutrio expressed their reservations.

They said that the interests of their areas would be jeopardized.

They said that the prevailing situation in the rural areas was extremely poor where even schools were not running, and added that expectant mothers died due to the non-availability of medicines and maternity homes.

They proposed that a proposal which protects the interests of the entire district should be backed by the members.

They said that the proposal of city government, comprising 16 towns, as claimed by the district Nazim, would be beneficial.

They argued that the maximum budgetary allocations would be made for urban areas and rural areas would be neglected which generated revenue.

When Farheen Mughal urged the members to stage a walk out from the session, the convener asked her not try to create chaos in the session which she always did.

A pandemonium took place when members of the city and rural areas rose to present their point of view simultaneously.

Q. Hakim, Qazi Abdul Qadeer, Ibrahim Chishti, Yousuf Qureshi, Dr Ayaz Arain, and Rauf Jaffri said that the resolution was in accordance with the provisions of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance and that no member should try to give it a rural-urban colour.

They said that they had always supported issues regarding rural areas, and added that the problems of rural and urban areas were entirely different.