Punjab government approves draft of Punjab Local Govt Act 2012

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over a meeting of the provincial cabinet on Thursday that gave approval to the draft law of Punjab Local Government Act 2012. The meeting also granted approval to setting up of building control authorities at the divisional level to check the incidents resulting from dangerous and dilapidated buildings.
The offices of these authorities will also be set up at district and tehsil levels. The meeting decided that the youth will be given full representation in the new local government system. The performance report of Punjab Public Service Commission for the year 2010-11 and the annual report of Punjab Pension Fund were also discussed in the meeting.
Addressing the cabinet, the chief minister said local bodies institutions were considered nurseries of democracy the world over which nourished democratic leadership and thereby strengthened democratic traditions through public representatives at the basic level. He said the Punjab government would introduce a local government system that would be in line with the demands of the modern age as well as aspirations of the masses.
He said that in order to give effective representation to the young generation in the decision-making process, five percent quota would be allocated for the youth while 33 percent seats would be reserved for women under the new local government system. Special seats would be reserved for minorities and farmers as well as workers in local bodies institutions for giving due representation to all segments of the society.
The chief minister expressed the hope that the new local government setup would provide an opportunity to the youth to display their talent and abilities under the democratic system.
He said Punjab would be the first province to have special quota for the youth in local bodies.
Referring to building control in the province, the chief minister directed that a unified system should be evolved to eliminate overlapping in the powers of development authorities and town municipal administration. He said development authorities would be responsible for building control in their notified areas. The Punjab government has sent the draft of Punjab Building Control & Housing Authority Bill to the Law Department for scrutiny.
He said that commissioners would be the chairmen of these authorities at the divisional level while the Chief Executive Officer of the authority would act as its secretary/member.