Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed while hearing a petition against the appointment of administrators, on Wednesday said that when local bodies complete their tenure, administrators are appointed as a stopgap arrangement only.
Justice Saeed directed the deputy attorney-general and additional advocate-general Punjab to submit the schedule for the local bodies’ election by July 1.
The petition was filed on behalf of the Local Councils Association of Pakistan through its director Anwer Hussain.
The petition challenged the appointments of administrators in the local government throughout Punjab that had replaced elected representatives.
Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, counsel for the petitioner, pleaded that since the present government has been in power, it has either directly or indirectly tried to subvert and sabotage the running of the local governments.
District Coordination Officers (DCO) who under law are responsible to assist elected representatives were made to act against the local government.
Hussain said that the government revived commissioners, creating a third layer of bureaucracy which virtually undermined the authority of the local government.
He added that the amendment of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance (PLGO) 2001 by the enactment of the Punjab Local government (Amendment) Act 2010 is a clear violation of Article 140-A of the Constitution.
As a result of the enactment, the provincial government not only dissolved local bodies in Punjab but also appointed administrators through a notification. Newly appointed administrators assumed all the district and local government powers, Hussain claimed.
Hussain asked that the appointment of administrators be set aside by declaring the amendment unconstitutional. He further asked that the elected local government representatives be allowed to continue in their respective posts till the next local government elections.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 10th, 2010.
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