Islamabad local government : Frustration mounts as no progress on devolution of powers

Government yet to notify Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation.

ISLAMABAD: Farman Mughal, union council chairman from I-10/1, Monday visited the office of the Islamabad mayor with a request of renovation of some dilapidated streets in area from where he was elected almost six months ago.

Mughal might have forgotten that the mayor is still as ineffective and helpless as he himself is, primarily, due to the inordinate delay in devolution of powers to the people’s representatives.

Sheikh Ansar Aziz, city’s first mayor, is so desperate to work as per expectations of the elected local bodies’ representatives, and capital’s residents that last week his office wrongly claimed that the government had notified the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) after approving distribution of functions and assets, contrary to the fact it is yet to be done.

Reasons for delay

The local government is fighting at two different fronts to get powers devolved to them as promised to them under the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Local Government Act 2015.

First, the city managers who are delaying the process of devolution in the face of their unlawful desire to retain some revenue generating departments – which are supposed to be devolved to the IMC as per provision of the ICT Local Government Act 2015 – to them.

Second, the federal government’s overall disinterest in resolving pending issues and making the first local government functional.

There exists a deadlock-like situation over devolution of the CDA’s six departments including One Window Directorate, Estate Management, Building Control Section, Rawal Lake Park, F-9 Park, and Zoo and Wildlife Directorate.

“The CDA wants to retain them as these are continuous revenue generation sources,” said an official at the mayor’s office.

He said that during the last meeting of the transition committee, the CDA insisted to not devolve these directorates.

If the CDA devolves One Window Directorate it would lose annual income, it generates through transfer of properties in Islamabad.

Same is the case with Building Control Section that generates revenue by approving layout plans of buildings and imposing fines on building code violators.

The civic agency also claims that F-9 and Rawal Lake parks are part of the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) so these would rest with the CDA.

“Regulation of buildings, collection of money through approval of layout plans and transfer of properties is a mandate, the ICT Local Government Act bestows to the municipal corporation,” the mayor’s office representative said.

“Such illegal desires of the city managers have been delaying the transfer of functions and responsibilities,” the official added.

During the last meeting of the transition committee, it was decided that out of a total of 70 directorates of the CDA some 23 departments, where there is no disagreement between the local government and the civic agency, will be fully devolved to the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation.

Some 20 directorates will be partially devolved to the corporation.

“Minutes of this meeting have been issued with the approval of the Interior Ministry. But, a formal notification of this distribution of functions is still awaited,” the official said, adding the mayor had been assured that notification would be issued before June 2016.

According to the clause 130 (succession) of the ICT Local Government Act 2015, the government was bound to complete the process of distribution of assets, liabilities, rights, functions, etc within six months of the commencement of the act.

The six months time period lapsed on February 5, 2016.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2016.