CM okays draft-bill for Local govt system

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has finalised the draft of the Local Government Bill and decided to present it before the provincial cabinet on April 16.

The nod was given during a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, said an official handout.

Others, who attended the meeting, included special assistant to the prime minister, Shehzad Arbab, KP Minister for Finance, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, the adviser to the chief minister, Ziaullah Bangash, Chief Secretary Saleem Khan, Additional Chief Secretary, Shehzad Bangash, Local Government Secretary, Zahid Ali Shah and others.

The participants of the meeting were briefed on the draft-Local Government Bill. The contents of the proposed legislation were discussed threadbare section-wise.

The special focus was the functions and responsibilities of the city nazim, tehsil nazim, tehsil council and the procedure for the budget approval. These were finally approved.

The chief minister directed the relevant officials to complete all the requirements related to the proposed bill and put up the document to the provincial cabinet on April 16 for approval.

Mahmood Khan said the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government introduced Local Government system by devolving powers at the grassroots level for the welfare of the masses. “The proposed bill is a bid to make the system more effective,” he argued.

The chief minister said the draft-bill would be presented in the KP Assembly after approved by the provincial cabinet.