PML-N, PPP have feudal mindset: minister

Inayatullah says federal govt has failed to devolve powers at grassroots level

PESHAWAR: Senior Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan criticised the federal government for not establishing local government system and devolving powers at grassroots level.

Talking to The News here on Tuesday, he said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which ruled the country several times in the past couldn’t establish local government system during their respective governments. He said both the major parties have feudal mindset and they didn’t want to transfer power to grassroots level.

Inayatullah claimed that the KP government had established district governments, transferred powers to grassroots, provided funds to nazims of district governments, tehsil and village levels.

Reacting to Daniyal Aziz’s diatribe about local government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said that the PML-N leader should have raised this issue in Lahore and Karachi instead of Peshawar.

“Daniyal Aziz should have told the nation as to which province has completed the local government formation,” he asked. The minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) could organise conventions in Lahore to inform the local government representatives about their rights.

“Why has Punjab government failed to conduct the election of mayor and deputy mayor, chairman and deputy chairman of municipal committee,” asked the minister. He said that the KP government had devolved power to local government representative and it had allocated 30 percent of developmental funds for them.

The minister said that KP had devolved political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of local governments in line with Article 140 of the Constitution.

“More than eight months have passed since the local government elections were held in Sindh and Punjab, but neither mayor, deputy mayor, nor chairman and deputy chairman could be elected,” he said.

He added that transparent delimitation of local councils across the KP was carried out that was appreciated and endorsed by the Supreme Court.The minister said that KP government had taken several steps to transfer power at the grassroots level. He said that everything was going in right direction in KP and with the passage of time amendments would be made to the local government act for empowering the local authorities.

Inayatullah Khan said that the salary issue of neighbourhood nazims and village council nazims had been solved.He maintained that funds had been allocated to local governments in the province without any discrimination.

The minister said that one of the landmark changes in the local government system was the creation of village and neighbourhood councils to devolve power at the grassroots level. He said that 1,001 union councils in the province were delimited to create 3501 village and neighbourhood councils.