Hinting at delays: Local govt polls unlikely before general elections, says Bilour

Highlights incumbent administration’s achievements, development projects.

PESHAWAR:

Senior provincial minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour on Friday said the local government elections are unlikely to be held before the upcoming parliamentary polls.

“The matter is out of the provincial government’s hands as conducting the local bodies election is now the mandate of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),” Bilour said during a press briefing at Officer’s Mess.

Flanked by provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Bilour said the K-P government had no reservations over holding local bodies elections immediately. “But in my view, it is highly unlikely that they will take place before the general elections, which are around the corner.”

Highlighting the achievements of the local government, Bilour said the government, for the first time, has come up with a plan for resettling people residing in ‘Katchi Abadis’ of Peshawar by giving them land near Changarabad. He added that the land in question would be bought from Pakistan Railways, which has already been consulted in this regard.

He added that 14 new Tehsil Muncipal Administrations (TMA) have been added to the existing 55. “However, 40 TMAs have no fire brigades to cope with emergencies.”

Replying to a query, Bilour said the government is working on equipping TMAs with fire brigades and Rs67 million has been allocated under the current Annual Development Programme for the purpose.

He added that five to ten TMAs could be provided fire brigades by the incumbent government till the end of its tenure and the rest would have to be facilitated by the successive government.

To another question, Bilour said the K-P assembly was the first to pass the Local Government Act, 2012. He criticised the local bodies system crafted in 2001 for being under the control of the federal government with a single nazim having to look after 18 departments. “This is an impossible task. Even a minister finds it hard to run several ministries.”

Giving more details, he said the 2001 local government system had done away with the magistracy system, while the Local Government Act, 2012 revived it.

“Had there been a commissionerate system at the time, a situation similar to Swat would not have emerged in various parts of the province,” said Bilour while blaming the earlier system for a rise in militancy.

Bilour was also keen to divulge information about projects completed by the incumbent administration.

He said that slaughter houses were built with the help of funds worth Rs80 million under the Community Infrastructure Project in Shabqadar (Charsadda), Lakki Marwat, Suwarai (Buner), Barrikot (Swat) and Kulachi (DI Khan).

Tehsil complexes costing Rs45 million were built in Abbottabad, Shabqadar and Chitral, while Rs200 million has been allocated for constructing tehsil complexes at Takhti-i-Nasrati (Karak), Daraban, Alpuri, Poran, Mastooj, Amazai Buner, Dargai and Peshawar.

Bilour said the Arbab Sikandar Khan Khalil overhead bridge on GT Road has been completed at a cost of Rs920 million while the Mufti Mehmood Flyover costing Rs1.77 billion will be completed in December 2013.

Similarly, the Ring Road Southern Section costing Rs2 billion will be completed in the next two months.

Bilour said a plan is being chalked out to obtain water from Warsak and Spera dams to tend to the increasing demand in Peshawar.

Another plan is in the works to set up a solid waste recycling project costing Rs1 billion at Dheri Baghbanan, Peshawar, with the help of a company that has shown interest in the venture.

Under the project, waste from four towns of Peshawar would be accumulated and recycled for production of fertiliser, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2012.