LAHORE, March 17: The Punjab local government minister, Raja Muhammad Basharat, said on Monday there was no plan to abolish the district government system.
“The government will not only retain it, but also strengthen it besides granting honorarium to the councillors,” he said while opening a training course for the Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors of the Data Ganj Bakhsh Town union councils Monday evening.
The minister said a committee had already been constituted by the provincial government to examine the problems the system had experienced in one and a half year. The committee would also consider proposals to solve the problems and evolve a viable strategy to enhance it’s life, he added.
He said the government wanted to maintain a balance between the MPs and the district governments, but a wrong impression that the government wanted to abolish the district governments and transfer their functions to the newly-elected MPAs and MNAs had been created.
He said the provincial government would not only continue to contribute its share to the district governments’ budget, but 90 per cent of the special funds allocated to the MPAs and MNAs would also be utilized through the same because these formed the foundation of the democratic system. Both the assembly members and the local bodies councillors had to function within their specific spheres, but a relationship of mutual confidence and respect between the two was the need of the hour, he said.
He admitted that the district government system had its flaws, which needed to be removed for improving its working. He also said he was aware of the working and problems of the local government system because he himself started his political career as a local government councillor from Rawalpindi, and had been elected its chairman twice.
Mr Basharat said most of the local bodies did not have any annual development programme. Some local bodies continued approving development schemes throughout the year whereas others accepted tenders for development schemes involving expenditure of Rs270 million against an annual budget of Rs60 million. He advised the local bodies office-bearers to adopt the practice of approving the annual development programme at the beginning of the financial year and oversee it’s implementation the rest of the time.
According to the minister, the local governments had an in-built system of accountability, and only a system of checks and balances was required to be developed. The Punjab Local Government Commission was doing the needful in this regard.
Responding to questions, the minister said a wrong impression had been created that the union councillors enjoyed no powers. He said the powers of the union councillors had been defined in the Punjab Local Government Ordinance clearly. The councillors exercised their powers through the union councils and not individually, he said, adding the real and the most important power was, however, the authority to identify the problems being faced by the residents of their areas.
When a number of councillors interrupted the minister’s speech and protested against the disobedience of the sanitary workers and called for restoring their right to express no-confidence against the Nazims and deputies, he regretted that he was talking about the system, but they were not rising above the level of the street and the mohalla. He said two groups existed at every union council, town council and district level, and each would have to compromise with the other.
Referring to the demand of the councillors for grant of honorarium, the minister said a summary, moved in this regard, had been returned to him. The government was, however, considering award of honorarium to the councillors and would take a decision in their favour. He said organization of inter-district, inter-provincial and international exchanges of delegations of councillors was also being considered by Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. He, however, asked the councillors to remember that solving the problems of the people was their basic responsibility.
District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood said the district government system had replaced 150-year-old British System, headed by the deputy commissioners. Many people believed that the system would collapse because the district Nazims did not have the judicial powers and could not control the police like DCs did. The system had, however, proved its utility and the Nazims had succeeded in maintaining law and order with the support of the union councillors despite hundreds of demonstrations in all parts of the country following the September 11 incident in the US, the Nazim added.
He said the councillors required to be empowered for strengthening the government system because they formed its foundation. He also supported the demand of the councillors for grant of honorarium.
On this occasion, District Naib Nazim Farooq Amjad Mir said hidden hands wanted confrontation between the local bodies councillors and the MNAs and the MPAs despite the fact that the councillors and the district governments had been given the powers of the bureaucracy. He added that the councillors were the supporters of the MNAs and the MPA s and their rivals.
He advised the councillors to give up confrontation and groupings within their union councils and work like a team for solving the problems of the people.
The training course will commence at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Tuesday (today) and will continue till March 31.