The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has rejected the Local Government Act 2012 as contravene to the crux of the local government (LG) system.
According to media reports, KP LG Minister Inayatullah, while highlighting the salient features of the newly proposed LG system, has said that the system would be enforced for a period of three years, after being tabled in the provincial assembly as a bill, instead of any promulgated ordinance.
The new LG system envisages village councils to be contested on non-party basis of 2,000 to 10,000 population areas, having a total of 10-15 councillors, with a 30 percent female representation and reserved seats for minorities.
Another feature of the new LG system would be union councils, whose representatives, along with those of the village councils, would be elected by tehsil and district nazims, elected through party-based polls.
Education, communication and works, health and many other departments would be subordinated to the district management.
The newly proposed bill for LG also delegates the revenue department’s authority and administration to district councillors besides the formation of a provincial commission through elected tehsil and district nazims, including both governmental and opposition representatives.
The KP government has regretted the immediate holding of new LG elections, as considering all the ‘revamping’ of the LG system, it could take two to three months to hold the elections.
