Amendments to Punjab local bodies’ law: Uphill task for PML-Q to sway PTI

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) is trying hard to convince its senior coalition partner--Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)–to insert certain amendments to the local bodies’ law for Punjab, but the response is not very encouraging.

“We hope we will finally succeed in persuading the PTI to change the local law, which, in its present shape, is impracticable and will entail complications and difficulties,” a PML-Q insider told The News on condition of anonymity.

He said that the PML-Q wants to contest the next local polls in collaboration with the PTI, but this would not be possible if the present law, which was passed by the Punjab Assembly last year, was not significantly altered.

Meanwhile, a credible source said that to put theadministrative paraphernalia in place before the elections, the Punjab government, to start with, has decided to recruit 4,000 computer operators for their allocation to the village councils, which would be created as a result of the elections, which, however, are nowhere in sight at the moment.

The PML-Q insider said that this would obviously involve a huge burden on Punjab’s exchequer, which was already under tremendous strains due to shortage of resources.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed has expressed concern over the working of the local councils and underlined the need for early elections.

The PML-Q source said as per the existing law the village council will comprise the chairman, vice chairman and another elected representative. A candidate getting the highest number of votes will head it and the runner-up and the one getting the third position will form the village council.

The body will be empowered to impose, collect and utilise taxes in its area of jurisdiction. The PML-Q leader said that this whole scheme will be impeded by lack of capacity of such elected councilors, who have no training and education to run this kind of system. Even the working of the council in a smooth manner will not be possible because of the presence of political rivals, who have contested against each other.

He said that same will be the result in the case of neighbourhood councils that will be set up by abolishing major cities. He believed that the district councils have been dispensed with due to the perception that certain influential political families monopolise them. “How can they be stopped from controlling the tehsil councils and other local bodies?”

The PML-Q has proposed to the PTI that the district governments should be restored and they may be elected through direct polls. If the districts are not revived, a large number of more administration officials would be required to preside over the affairs of Tehsils.

More than one tier of local governments will be established at the Tehsil level including the town and municipal committees. The PML-Q opines that there should be one local council in every Tehsil.

It says there is no need to spawn several metropolitan corporations in major cities which do not, otherwise, qualify for such status. Dera Ghazi Khan, the home district of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, is also being declared a metropolitan for the purpose of local governments although it doesn’t have the requisite qualifications.

The PML-Q insider said that his party has conveyed its demands to the federal government committee, which has been constituted to sort out contentious issues with his party. He said that the team has promised to arrange a meeting of experts with the PML-Q leaders to satisfy them about the new local bodies’ system.

However, he was satisfied with the progress made so far as its complaints have been taken care of. The coalition is now working smoothly.

Senior PML-Q leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi told The News that his party was preparing in a big way for the forthcoming local elections. The PML-Q would field candidates in whole of Punjab.

“We delivered and our development work is witness to it,” he said. “We hope on the basis of performance that we will show results in the local polls.”

Punjab Information Fayyazul Hassan Chohan was repeatedly contacted on his mobile phone by The News for official version, but he avoided to talk to this correspondent. He once promised through his voice message that he would return the call but in vain.

However, a senior official of the Punjab government told The News that the “demands and grievances” of the PML-Q would be taken care of in due course of time. He said that Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, who is head of different federal government committees formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to hold dialogue with allies, would meet the PML-Q leaders to discuss their suggestions. In addition, the official said, a meeting of experts of the local government law would be arranged with the PML-Q to explain that the Punjab legislation was largely similar to the one introduced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the PTI, which has satisfactorily worked there.