Govt seeks more time for LG restoration plan
The Local Government and Community Development Department to seek for two weeks’ time to finalise the restoration plan and to get it approved by the government, before the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday, The Express Tribune learnt on Tuesday.
A senior government official, who requested not to be named, said within the coming two weeks LG&CD Department will finalise the recommendation of tehsil and district transition teams and present it before the government for approval.
He said the local governments were in effect restored, but before they could become operational there were a few administration technicalities that needed to be ironed out.
The LHC on July 19 had given the government one week’s time to come up with a plan for restoration of the local government system in the province.
Read Provinces ‘bound’ to give powers to LGs
The government fearing a contempt of court for not implementing March 25 order of the honourable SC, had on July 9, moved a summary to the Chief Minister Office, to seek his approval for transition committees to restore the local bodies.
After obtaining his approval from the government, LG&CD on July 17 issued a notification, notifying four transition teams, with two for operational purposes and two for administrative purposes.
The local bodies representatives termed it a futile exercise, claiming that the government was only trying to delay their restoration on pretext on these transition committees.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2021.