Govt urged to hold local govt elections

LAHORE: Civil society organisations and people from a cross section of society have demanded the Punjab government immediately announce schedule for local government elections, saying it should be announced 120 days before the elections.

The conference held here on Tuesday by Baidarie, Sialkot, in collaboration with South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP), Sangat Development Foundation (SDF) and Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) stressed that the Punjab government should immediately approve and implement the law of local government as per the decision of the Supreme Court. Mian Mahmood ur Rasheed, Minister Housing & Planning, and PTI MPA Sadia Sohail were the chief guests at the conference.

The participants stressed the importance of allocating funds for local government and announcing provincial finance commission award. Punjab government did not allocate funds for local government in budget 2021-22, they said. The objective of this conference was to highlight the importance of an inclusive, efficient, transparent and accountable local government system in Punjab. They said the Punjab government should devolve its political, administrative and financial responsibilities to local government under Article 140-A.

They called for complete and comprehensive devolution of administrative and fiscal powers to local government institutions. This means all alternative development authorities such as LDA, PHA and Wasa etc should be brought under the control of local government, they demanded. They also demanded that Village and Neighborhood Councils should be empowered through transfer of maximum power and responsibilities so that they can fulfill their duties and responsibilities in an effective manner.