Punjab bracing for old administrative structure

Following the footsteps of the PPP-led coalition government which restored the commissionerate system in Sindh, the Punjab government is also bracing to revive the old administrative structure in the province.
Sources in the CM’s Secretariat told Pakistan Today that the provincial cabinet had prepared the summary and was all set to submit it to Punjab Governor Latif Khosa for a formal approval in a couple of days. The PML-N government in Punjab was flexing its muscles to revert back to the old district magistracy system for managing the administration in an effective manner, sources claimed.
“PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has also termed the revival of commissionerate or magistracy system in Punjab a decision by a democratic government. The local bodies system was designed by a dictator and the elected government has the right to make changes in it,” a PML-N MNA quoted Nawaz as saying at cabinet meeting held at the CM’s Secretariat some days back.
Sources said the commissionerate system was based on two major parts – revenue authority and magisterial power. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had already restored one part of the system by withdrawing the revenue powers from the district governments (EDOs and DDOs at the district level) and delegating them to the assistant commissioners. “The Punjab government has restored the office of assistant commissioner in the entire province and abolished the EDO Revenue posts on March 8, 2011,” sources added.
A senior official of the Local Government and Community Development said to restore the previous system, the Punjab cabinet had already sanctioned the amended Local Government Ordinance Bill 2001 approval of which was given in the backdrop of the 18th Amendment. He said after the exit of General (r) Pervez Musharraf, the mastermind of the local government system, the chief minister had also restored the post of the divisional commissioner in the province.
The process to separate judiciary from executive started in 1989 with the announcement of a Sindh High Court judgment on the petition of Sharaf Faridi. Upholding the decision, the Supreme Court had held that “the independence of judiciary means that every judge is free to decide matter(s) before him in accordance with his assessment of the facts and understanding of the law without improper influence.”
The process was completed during the military government after which the powers enjoyed by the deputy commissioners were vested in district nazims. On the other hand, another official described the move as a retrogressive step.