REPORT ON ‘STATE OF LOCAL GOVT IN ISLAMABAD’
Islamabad
Mohsin Masood, a US-based Pakistani, has said that the problem of the Federal Metropolis is rapidly rising population and no political party seems to be giving this issue any attention.
Mr Masood was asking a question at the launching of a report on “One year after — State of Local Government in Islamabad Capital Territory” here on Wednesday. The study was conducted by Inspiring Pakistan and Pattan Development Organisation.
Mr Mohsin said that population in the country is growing but in the capital, the city is expanding without checks and planning. Earlier, Sarwar Bari, National Coordinator, Pattan, said that a dictator gave 33 per cent representation to women but in this democratic era, it was reduced to 10%. He said that India started with 20 pc and took it to 50 per cent.
He criticised that property dealers and lawyers submitted nomination papers declaring their professions as such but allowed to contest as peasants or labourers and no Returning Officer noted it. He said that a deputy mayor in IMC contested as peasant having huge bungalow in Chak Shehzad with tens of millions of bank balance whereas a peasant is defined in the law as one depending on agriculture for one’s living.
Sarwar Bari said that the new electoral reform bill contains a provision to hold elections within 120 days which is the only good provision in it. He said that population in urban areas is greater but there are more UCs in rural areas.
Dr SM Nasim, formerly an academician from QAU, said that the Local Government Ordinance is a show-piece. He said that the government wants to do what it intends and does not follow the LB Law. He said that ‘land mafia’ live here. He said that structure of the capital has been changed over the years. He said that there is conflict of interest in having MCI and CDA Chairperson in one person.
Dr Niaz Murtaza, head of Inspiring, criticised the provision that after general elections, the new government can dissolve local bodies and conduct new elections. He said that rights of LBs have no constitutional protection. He lamented that Federal Government has undue rights of interfering in Municipal Corporation Islamabad. He called for protection of rights of MCI employees transferred from CDA. He said education and health taxes should be collected by MCI which has no budget so far.
He said that backwards areas need greater attention in planning and execution. Dr Saeed Ahmed Rid from Quaid-i-Azam University said that during Musharraf period, the bureaucracy was given a big jolt but now the district management is again gaining power which is a backward journey.
Fauzia Arshad, a PTI Union Councillor Chairperson, said that women are not given protection so that they could go out to earn a living. She said that we should serve the people above political divide and lamented the distribution of funds is being done on political basis. She called for giving job description and training to councillors. She called for giving legal status to French Colony, the slum in her constituency. She opposed gender discrimination prevalent in health, education and jobs. All women should do jobs in offices, she urged.
In the Question Hour, a minority councillor said that slums did not get justice from any platform. He said that Christian marriage is not registered in union council register. A participant said that a PTI politician has denuded around 4-km hills in between Malote Road and Banigala to carve out Park View and one does not know if the developer got an NOC or conducted Environment Impact Assessment from PEPA. One participant asked where powers of IMC would stand after CDA gets a Chairperson.
Answering a question, Fauzia Arshad said that CDA has an Environment office in F-8/1, where mails can come just to show their presence and do nothing. Sajida Zaheer, PML-N councillor, also spoke on the occasion.