Local govt act to be presented in Punjab Assembly

Law minister says new system will represent the people’s hopes

LAHORE: Talking about the new local bodies system, Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja said that the Punjab Local Government Bill 2019 will be presented in the provincial assembly after passing through all the legal stages.

He maintained that the new system will truly represent the public’s hopes. Not only will the public be given power at a local level, they will also be able to solve issues in their areas at their doorstep, he said.

He stated that the legislation was drafted under the Constitution of Pakistan. The government cannot stop legislation due to pressure from the opposition.

It is anticipated that the opposition will also adopt a positive attitude with regard to the act to transfer powers to a local level, he said.

CSOs voice opinion on local government act

Meanwhile, civil society organisations claimed that no stakeholders were taken on board before presenting the Punjab Local Government Act 2019 in the provincial assembly. They expressed these views during a consultation held in Lahore on Sunday.

Punjab cabinet approves Local Govt Bill 2019

Expressing his views about the newly drafted local government act, Zahid Aslam an expert on the matter, said that the government addresses local government through two separate acts, namely the Punjab Local Government Act 2019 and the Punjab Panchayat and Neighbourhood Council Act 2019.

The acts are contradictory in their descriptions and are poorly drafted, he maintained. The metropolitan corporation, the municipal corporation, the municipal committees and town committees have been introduced in urban areas while village councils and tehsil councils will be established in the rural system, he highlighted.

Neighbourhood councils have been introduced which have no concept with urban local governments, either legally or administratively. There is no concept of a district council or district government such as previous models, he said.

Overall, it seems as though powers are centralised rather than decentralised which does not fall within democracy, he maintained.

Asma Aamir highlighted that the current government came into power with a majority vote from the younger generation.

However, there is no reserved seat for the youth in this act.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2019.