RMC bank account still dormant despite revival of local bodies

LG representatives consider moving court for extension in tenure

RAWALPINDI:

The bank account of the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) could not be made functional even after 10 days of resumption of charge by local government representatives after a hiatus of over two years in the light of the top court order.

Meanwhile, the elected representatives have started consultation with the lawyers to get an extension of 28 months after the end of the current year to compensate for the period they remained dysfunctional.

The Rawalpindi mayor and chairmen of district councils have decided to file an application in the Supreme Court (SC) in this regard.

The PTI-led Punjab government had dissolved the local government system in May 2019 and announced holding the elections under the new system.

The elected bodies had earlier become functional on January 1, 2017.

Read RMC back in the saddle again

Sources said that the account of the municipal corporation will become functional only after the notifications from the Punjab finance department and local government department.

In this regard, Rawalpindi Mayor Sardar Naseem Khan said he has written a letter on the dormant account’s matter to the Punjab government.

He added said the extension of 28 months in tenure was the right of the elected representatives of local bodies during which they were not allowed to work.

The mayor said consultation with the lawyers was under way in this regard and the matter will be raised before the top court.

In this regard, the mayors of Rawalpindi, Lahore, and other cities as well as chairmen of district councils have started contacts.

Sources said that the priority of the local representatives was to complete the unfinished development projects and the approval of new projects.

Highlight: Sources said that the RMC account will become functional only after the Punjab government issued a notification

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2021.