F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Cabinet on Thursday approved the Local Government Amendment Bill 2019.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan chaired the cabinet meeting and said that a uniform local bodies system would enforced in the whole province including merged tribal districts.
After the cabinet meeting the Minister for Local Government Shehram Khan Tarakai and Minister for Information Shaukat Yousafzai held a combined press conference at Cabinet Room.
The Local Government Minister Shehram Khan Tarakai said that in the new local bodies system the abolition of district nazim post and district council have been suggested.
“In the new system the rural and urban areas would respectively comprise of Tehsil and City Governments and Village and Neighborhood councils,” he said and added that the nazmeen would now be called chairmen.
“It has also been decided that in all divisional headquarters the city local governments would be formed and its head would be called Mayer,” he stated and added that the election for Tehsil Council Chairman and Mayer City Local Government would be held on parties basis, while polls for village and neighborhood councils would be held on non-parties basis.
“The Tehsil Chairman and Mayer City Local Government would be elected through direct elections,” he said.
Shaehram Tarakai added that in the village and neighborhood councils 33 percent quota for women, five percent for youth and quota for minorities have been restored.
“The number of members in village and neighborhood councils has been decreased to six to seven while earlier it was 10 to 15,” he stated.
The minister said that the departments of Primary and Secondary Education, Public Health Engineering, Sports, Culture, Youth Affairs, Livestock, Social Welfare, Population, Water and Sanitation and Rural Development would be under the Tehsil Chairman and Mayer City Local Government.
On the occasion the Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai said that through the new Local Bodies Amendment Bill the Local Government Finance Commission would be established where the number of tehsil chairmen has been increased to five from two and they would be elected from concerned five zones in the province.
“To prevent corruption in the new local bodies system the financial matters would be computerized and provincial government and third party would be able to audit the local governments,” he said.
The Minister for Local Government Shehram Tarakai said that Tehsil Council would be able to approve budget through simple majority, while local governments would be provided 30 percent of provincial developmental budget.
“The Thesil Council Chairman and Mayer City Local Government could be removed through accountability movement with two third majority of the house,” he stated and added that while for accountability movement Local Government Commission would to be provided with sound reasons.
Shehram Tarakai maintained that capital city Peshawar would be comprised of two city local governments and three tehsil governments.
The amendment in the bill would be presented in the Provincial Assembly for approval.
