Analysis of Local Government Statutes Report

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AN ANALYSIS OF LOCAL

GOVERNMENTSTATUTES OFTHE PUNJAB AND KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWAPROVINCES


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This report was made possible with support from the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The content is theresponsibility of Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the U.S. Government.

May 2014


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Table of Contents

Historical Perspective

Legislation after independence

Local Government Ordinance, 1979


Punjab Local Government Act, 2013

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013

Conclusion

Sources of Reference

Annex 1

Annex 2

2

3

4

5

7

9

10

12

12-13

110-111


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02AN ANALYSIS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STATUTES OFPUNJAB & KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

The basic philosophy of local government systemis that theaffairs of an area, how large or small may be, includingadministration thereof, provision of services, like water, gas,electricity, roads, educational and health facilities, taxation,policing and resolution of minor disputes are managed andprocessed by the residents of that area, either directly orthrough their representatives. The excavations of the citiesof Moenjodaro (Sindh), Harappa (Punjab), Takhat Bhai(Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and several other archeologicalsites in Pakistan relating to 5000 to 4000 B.C. are clearindicative of the fact that even during ancient period, theIndus civilization had certain bodies or organizations in theadministration who were responsible for provision of basiccivic services, such as sanitation and development of watersources. Under the Mughals who were very fond of greenery, during the long reign provided and developedgardens, fountains and public baths, etc., for the commonpeople.

During seventeenth century, the British colonial rule of Indian sub continent commenced through East IndiaCompany, Charted by the Queen of England on the 31stDecember, 1600. The Company was, in the first instance,formed to have trade with Indian states, but shortly afterlanding in India, it assumed the role of an agent of BritishCrown and started occupying the Indian territories andestablishing its rule thereon. In this process, Madras wasthe first territory on which the Company established itscomplete control. In 1688, Madras was declared as aMunicipal corporation for the purpose of looking after thecivics arrangements of the area. In 1842, when theCompany had occupied a large chunk of Indian peninsulaand several southern states, the first legislation, namely theConservancy Act was introduced in Bengal Presidencywhere under Conservancy Committees were constituted.Since the British Government had annexed Sindh withBombay Presidency, the law was also made applicable toKarachi by constituting a Board of Conservancy in the sameyear. Later, on the same pattern under the Municipal Act,1846, such Committees were established at Lahore andRawalpindi. This legislation was, however, limited in scopeas it only provided for setting up of Sanitary Committees incertain towns on the request of residents or owners of thehouses in a locality for the purpose of maintenance of conservancy, including collection of garbage and disposalthereof. This was followed by the All India Municipal Act,1850 which was, initially, enforced in four towns of Bengaland Punjab having concentration of British and other

Eruption nationals. Under this statute, MunicipalCommittees could be set up in the area on the desire of ownersof houses thereof.

Subsequently, in 1852, thelaw wasextendedto Karachi andaccordingly a Municipality was established for that district.Later, in year 1867, thePunjab Municipal Actwas introducedwhere under Committees comprising official and non-official members could be appointed by the Government fora periodof two years,inter alia, withthe object tomake themresponsible for management of conservancy affairs. Duringthe same period, the District Improvement Act, 1864, was

enforced whereby Commissioners of the Divisions werenominated as ex-officio Chairmen of the MunicipalCommittees of the districts of their respective divisions.Similarly, in 1868, the Bengal District Town Act applicable tosmall towns was issued. Under the said law, the respectiveTown Magistrates were to head the civics bodies of thetowns. In 1884, pursuant to Lord Ripon's Resolution, theMunicipal Acts were issue for Punjab, Bengal and Bombay.Under those enactments elected members were toconstitute the Municipal Committees along with theGovernmentappointed members.

In 1873, the Punjab Municipal Act came into being vestingenhanced powers upon the municipalities in the matterconcerning municipal service. Likewise, the Bengal DistrictMunicipal Act, 1878, was introduced and thereby City of Municipality of Karachi was established. Because of enlargement of occupied territories and for bettergovernance thereof, the British Government constitutedseveral Commissions to improve system of Local Self-Government for the purpose of delegating the municipalfunctions upon the municipalities for discharge of civicservices. In this context, the Government of India Act, 1919,brought drastic improvement in the system of Local Self-Government. By virtue of the said enactment, the subject of Local Self-Government was made a 'transferred subject'.Consequently, in 1922 the Ministry of Local Self-Government was established in the Province of Punjab. In1925, the Bombay City Municipality Act was introducedwhich was also applicable to Sindh. By Virtue of the saidlegislationmore of the Municipal powers and administrationof Cities were devolved to municipalities. The BengalMunicipal Act, 1932, repealing 1884, statute upgraded thesystem of Local Self-Government of the Province. In 1933,Karachi was given the status of Municipal Corporationunder theCity of Karachi Act, 1933.

The Government of India Act, 1935 which ultimately pavedthe way for partition of India into two independent states of Pakistan and India empowered the Provinces to makelegislation on Local Self-Government by adding thefollowing entry in the ProvincialLegislative List:-

"13. Local government, that is to say, the constitution andpowers of Municipal corporations, improvement trusts,district boards, miningsettlement authoritiesand other localauthorities for the purpose of local self-government orvillage administration."

The empowerment of Provinces to legislate on the subjectof Local Self-Government, energize the Provinciallegislators to strengthen the system. Accordingly, there wasa rapid growth of fresh legislation for widening of the scopeof local self-government. In consequence thereof, Lahorewas made a Municipal Corporation under the LahoreCorporation Act, 1941, while under the Quetta Municipal

Act, 1946, similar status was given to the city of Quetta. Thispolicychange continued till the creation of Pakistan.

Historical Perspective


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03 AN ANALYSIS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STATUTES OFPUNJAB & KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Administration ordinance 1960, however, still exist on thestatute book and provides a guide line for subsequentlegislation on the subject of local government,administration thereof and issues dealing with municipalservices.

In 1969, General Yahya Khan replaced Field MartialMuhammad Ayub Khan and took control of the country. Herepealed the Basic Democracies Order, 1959, and took twofundamental decisions which brought drastic changes andultimately altered the destiny of the State. In 1954, the fourProvinces, namely Sindh, Baluchistan, North-West Frontierand Punjab were united to create the Province of WestPakistan. This union made the things easier for theConstituent Assembly entrusted with the task of makingConstituent for the country. All agreed to the principal of parity where under the seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan were divided at the ratio of fifty percent eachbetween the Province of West Pakistan and the Province of East Pakistan. General Yahya Khan conceding to thedemand of certain Political Parties restored the fourProvinces by dissolving Province of West Pakistan. He alsodid away with parity system and decided to hold generalelections in the country on the basis of one man one vote.This decision gave an upper hand to East Pakistan whichwas numerically in advantageous position having higherproposition population than the Province of West Pakistan.

Accordingly as a result of the elections on the basis of thesaid formulas, in East Pakistan Sheikh Mujeeb-ur- Rehman,as leader of the Awami Party obtained majority votes, whilein West Pakistan Mr. Zulifqar Ali Bhutto gained the majoritythrough his newly created Peoples’ Party. This divisionultimately led to dismemberment of Pakistan. The Provinceof East Pakistan declared independence and formed theState of Bangladesh. In West Pakistan, General Yahya khanhanded over powers to Mr. Z A Bhutto who finally becamePresident of Pakistan (erstwhile West Pakistan). Later on,the new Assembly gave a new Constitution, namelyConstitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Although,the Peoples’ Party which was headed by Mr. Bhutto hadabsolute majority andhad made an elaborateframework forlocal governments and their functions, but he failed toimplement his vision. No practical steps were taken formaking any legislation on the subject of local governmentsnor were any efforts made for holding elections of loweststructure of government.

On independence of the country, there were several seriousproblems to handle for the newly created state of Pakistan.In particular, there was a large influx of refugees from Indiawhohad nothing with them so most of theenergy andeffortswere spent in settlement of refugees in different parts of thecountry. After independence, for quiet sometimes, the lawsmade during pre-independence period continued andremained in force in accordance with the Independence Actof 1947. The Government was, however, full conscience of the importanceof the localself-government.

In 1950, the North-West Frontier Province Municipal Act wasintroduced on the lines of Lahore Corporation and QuettaMunicipal Acts referred to above. The Local Service Act,1947, passed by the Sindh Provincial Assembly whereby aseparate service for local governments was created. Entry13 of theProvincial Legislative List of 1935 Act wasrepeatedin the 1956 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistanand since then the subject of local government continuestobe a Provincial subject in the successiveConstitutions.

On October 7, 1958, Field Martial Muhammad Ayub Khantook control of the country by imposing Martial Law. Shortlyafter assuming powers, he introduced the BasicDemocracies Order, 1959, repealing the exiting localgovernment laws. This enactment set up local bodies atgrass-root level both in theerstwhileEastand West PakistanProvinces. It was supplemented by the Municipal

Administration Ordinance, 1960, providing in detail themunicipal services to be arranged and managed by localbodies. These twostatuteslaiddown an elaboratesystem of local self-government. It was intended by the Legislaturethat the Basic Democracies would bring coordinationbetween the people and government functionaries. Underthe fist statute, in urban areas, the lowest tier was UnionCommittee having six to ten elected members who used toelect a Chairman from amongst themselves. SuchCommittees had no fiscal powers. The Chairman of UnionCommittees were, however, acted as ex-officio members of the Municipal Committees. The Chairmen of the MunicipalCommittees were appointed by the Provincial Government.In rural areas, the lowest tier was the Union Councilcomprising a group of villages. The members of theCouncils elected the Chairman of the Union Council whoalso attained ex-officio membership of the higher Council.Over the above, these Councils and Committees, there wasa District Council comprising all Chairmen of UnionCouncils, Towns and Union Committees. A District Council

was required to coordinate the activities of all Councils andMunicipal Committees and Town Committees. TownCommittees were constituted to perform municipal andsocial welfare functions. District Councils were empoweredto levy taxes.However, thelaw lost faith amongst thepeoplemainly because subsequently, the members of Councilsand Committees were made an Electorate Collage for theelection of President of Pakistanand Legislative Assembliesas well as undue interference in the affairs of the Councilsand Committees by the appointed members. Although thesystem brought land reforms and progress in agricultureproduction, the second statute i.e., the Municipal

Legislation after independence


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On July 5, 1977, the armed forces under the command of General Zia ul Haque took control from the electedgovernment of Mr. Zulifqar Ali Bhutto. After two years i.e., in1979, General Zia introduced identical Ordinances for fourProvinces on the local government repealing the previousenactments on the subject. These were very elaboratestatutes and were generally welcomed as these statutescreated a hope amongst the people for resolution of theirdaily civics problems at local level. The new legislationprovided for civics bodies both for rural and urban areaswith enhanced fiscal responsibility. The law also providedthe concept of metropolitan corporations. The localcouncils were empowered to levy taxes and duties, causeremoval of encroachments and nuisances as well as toinitiate prosecution of the delinquents. The new legislationcertainly empowered the local government institutions tomanage their own affairs, particularly in matters relating toprevisions of civics services. It was considered that the newlaws undoubtedly had taken positive steps towardsdevolution of powers to the lower tiers of democraticinstitutions. Elections were also held in all the Provincesunder the new Ordinances, but these statutes were stronglycriticized for having too much official interference in theaffairs of thecivicsbodies.



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On October 12, 1999, armed forces once again, under thecommand of General Musharaf, the Chief of Pakistan Army,took control of the government by replacing the electedgovernment of Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. In the verybeginning of taking power in his hands, General Musharaf expressed his intentions to enforce ‘good governancethrough institutionalized participation of people at the grassroot level ’ through a representative system of localgovernment. He in this regard introduced a uniform systemof empowered local government in all the four Provincesfrom the 14th day of August, 2001, through Provincial LocalGovernment Ordinances. The fundamental principlesinvolved in 2001 statutescan be summarized asunder:-

devolutionof political power;centralizationof administrativeauthority;distribution of resources to the districts;de-concentrationof management functions;and

diffusionof power-authoritynexus.

In the light of above principles, the new legislation intendedto achieve the following objectives:-

removal of rural and urban divide and differences inprovisionof localgovernmentservices;resolution of problems of the people at the local levelby involving andempowering themasses in decision-making at grassroot level;facilitation to the community for participation indevelopmentwork;re-modeling the bureaucracy attached with the localgovernment institutions in a manner that a unified

administrative structure emerges at the district level toensure adequate provision of services to the people;ensuring that the new system of local governments,through effective checks and balances, serves thegenuine interests of the people and their rights aresafeguarded; andcreation of an enabling environment in which thepeople may participate in community welfare and bemastersof theirown destiny.

Similar enactments were introduced for Cantonments andIslamabad Capital Territory in the year 2002 (OrdinanceNos. CXXXVII and CXVII respectively). Likewise, legislationon thelines of above referred to Ordinances wasinitiatedfor

Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Federally AdministeredTribal Areas,but forvarious reasons such legislation wasnotbe finalized. Under the Provincial Ordinances, however,twice elections were held in all the Provinces in years 2002and 2005,on non-partybasis. Nevertheless, elections couldnot be held in Cantonments and Federal Capital Territory onthe grounds of various administrativecomplexities.

Under theProvincial Ordinances, ageof voters wasbroughtdown from 21 to 18 years. Shortly thereafter, under theSeventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistanvoter ’s minimum age has been fixed at 18 years. In order to

give representation to womenfolk who generally are shy tocontext election for public offices, in all Councils of the localgovernments, one-third seats of total numbers of memberswere reserved for women. These provisions were highlyappreciated and brought great enthusiasm amongstwomen. Since then in every election for public officesnumberof women candidature is on increase.

It is a matter of general knowledge that in our social set up,minor disputes amongst the residents, particularly in ruralareas, are one of the main sore point which hamper theprocess of development and cohesion in the society. Suchdisputes not only create friction and mistrust amongst thecitizens, rather ultimately lead to unnecessary litigationcausing drain on resources as well as develop lack of will towork for welfare of social environment. Previously, suchminor disputes were used to be resolved through thestatutory institutions of Conciliators or Elders, generallyknown as Punchyats and Jirgas. With the changes inlegislation, theseinstitutions lost theircompulsoryforce, buttraditionally in tribal areas and remote rural culture, theefficacy of these institutionsis still in vogue. Even at present,under the Conciliation Courts Ordinance, 1961, in marriagedisputes, system of conciliation and mediation between theerring spouses through their hakams (representatives) islegally enforceable. On the same lines, in the ProvincialLocal Government Ordinances, 2001, the resolution of disputes through arbitration, mediation and conciliationwasprovidedunder theinstitution of Musaliat Anjuman. Thelaw envisaged that people ’s problems are settled at locallevel by encouraging the public participation in decision-making. The essence of this system was that the localgovernments would be accountable to the citizens for alltheir decisions. For that purpose, institution of Musalihat

Anjuman was set up to resolve the peoples disputes al locallevel on the principles of ‘alternate dispute resolution ’ that isthrough mediations, conciliationand arbitration.

The legislation also introduced a new system of publicparticipation in development work through ‘CitizenCommunity Boards ’ . Under this mechanism, thecommunity was directly involved in development andwelfare thereof by making small contribution and act aswatchdog thereof. Briefly, the law envisaged that in a localarea, a group of twenty-five or more non-elected citizensmay, through voluntary proactive and self help initiative, setup a Citizen Community Board for the purpose of development and improvement of service delivery of the

area. Such Board was required to collect at least twentypercent of the cost of the development work, while eightypercent of the balance cost shall be borne by theGovernment. The Board was empowered to supervise thework directly. These Boards carried out tremendousdevelopment work for theirrespective communities.

In order to consolidate andstrengthen thelocal governmentsystem and avoid drastic changes therein, a new Article140A was added to the Constitution of Pakistan through theSeventeenth Amendment. By virtue of that addition, it wasprovided that each Province shall, by law, establish a



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system of local government and devolve political,administrative and financial responsibility and authority tothe elected representatives of the local governments. Thisprovision was supplemented by adding another provisionthrough theEighteenth Amendment to the Constitution tothe effect that in future elections to the local governmentsshall be conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan instead of Provincial Election Commissions. Butafter the expiry of the terms of local governments inDecember, 2009, the new elected Provincial Governmentsopenly expressed their intention to repeal the 2001Ordinances andintroduce newlegislationon thesubject. Inview thereof, holding of local government elections werepostponedon oneground or other. No doubtthat there werecertain administrative problems in implementation of thelocalgovernmentsystem under2001 Ordinances,but thosecould be removed by making minor changes in thestatutes.Further there was a hidden jealousy amongst National andProvincial Legislators who were against the devolution of their powers, particularly in development work to the localgovernments. Above all, the bureaucracy which had, dueto absence of non- elected governments for a long period,become very strong did not like the divesting of theirpowers to the elected representatives of the people. Theynot only opposed the new system of devolution of powers,ratheropenlypropagated anddepictedthe systemto be themain causefor corruption andrapiddetonation of thenormsof the social values. In this regard, Baluchistan was the firstProvince to replace 2001 Ordinance by Baluchistan LocalGovernment Act, 2011. The Province of Sindh initiallyrevived the 1979 law then replaced it with Sindh Peoples'Local Government Act, 2012, and once again replaced it in2013, with Sindh Local Government Act. KhyberPakhtunkhwa introduced a new legislation in 2012, but lateron after elections of May11, 2013. Later, on comingin powerof new political government in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, onNovember 5, the said law was replaced with the KhyberPakhtunkhwa Local Governments Act, 2013. Earlier, thePunjab repealed 2001 Ordinance and enforced the PunjabLocalGovernment Act,2013.


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ThePunjab wasthe last Province to do away with thePunjabLocal Governments Ordinance, 2001. On August 23, 2013,the Provincial Assembly passed the Punjab LocalGovernment Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013), by replacing thePunjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001, (XIII of 2001).Later, on 13th September, 2013, vide Notification No. SOR(LG) 39-20/2013, issued under sub-section (3) of section 1of the aforesaid Act, all previsions of the Act except section154 thereof dealing with repeal of 2001 Ordinance wereenforced with immediate effect. The new legislation is moretilted towards 1979, Punjab Local Governments Ordinanceand Ordinance 2001 promulgated during General Mushraf regime. It introduces several levels of local governmentsand Authorities, i.e., one for Education and other for Health.It is a new experience towards promotion of educations andhealth-care. The law as well has retained several provisionsof 2001 Ordinance, but no administrative office has beendevolved to the local governments. Technically, however, itis a well balanced andprogressive statute.

Under the Act, the lowest tier of the local government is theUnion Councils, both for the rural and urban areas to benotified by the Government for each district, to be called theVillage Councils and City Councils respectively. Each UnionCouncil shall have a Chairman and Vice Chairman to beelected directly as jointcandidates. In addition thereto, eachCouncil shall have six members elected on general seatsand the following members on the reserved seats on thebasisof adultfranchise:-

(a) twowomenmembers;(b) one peasant member in a rural Union Council or one

workermember in anurbanUnionCouncil;

(c) oneyouthmember;and(d) one non-Muslimmember.

Except the Lahore district, the next higher forum of localgovernment at district level are the District Councils for ruralareas and Municipal Committees for every notifiedintegrated urban areas having a population of thirtythousand or more but less than five hundred thousandpersons. All Chairmen of the rural Union Councils shall bethe members of the District Council along with the followingmembers indirectly elected on the reservedseats:-

(i) such number of women members, not exceeding five,as theProvincial Government maynotify on thebasisof numberof Union Councils in theDistrictCouncil;

(ii) such number of peasant members, not exceedingthree, as the Government may notify on the basis of numberof Union Councils in theDistrictCouncil;

(iii) one technocratmember;(iv) oneyouthmember;and(v) such non-Muslim members, not exceeding five, as the

Governmentmay notifyfor eachDistrict Council.

Chairman and Vice Chairman of the District Council shall beelected from amongst the members of the District Council.

In urban areas, the next higher local governments are theMunicipal Committees. The members of the MunicipalCommittees shall elect their Chairmen and Vice Chairmenas joint candidates from amongst themselves, by majorityvotes of the members present and voting. Each suchCommittee consists of directly elected members from thespecified wards thereof and the following membersindirectly elected on the reserved seats by the directlyelected members:-

(i) such number of women members, not exceeding five,asthe Government maynotify on thebasisof numberof wardsin the Municipal Committee;

(ii) such number of worker members, not exceeding two,asthe Government maynotify on thebasisof numberof wardsin the Municipal Committee;

(iii) oneyouthmember;and(iv) such number of non-Muslim members, not exceeding

three,as theGovernment maynotifyfor each MunicipalCommittee.

In thefirstsession of theMunicipalCommittee after election,themembers shall elect Chairman andVice Chairman of theCommittee, as joint candidates, by majority of the memberspresent andvoting.

The Government may declare and notify an integratedurban area having a population of more than five hundredthousand to be a Municipal Corporation comprising theChairmen of all Union Councils in the area of MunicipalCorporation and shall include the following membersindirectly elected on the reserved seats, by the Chairmen of theurbanUnionCouncilspresent andvoting:-

(a) such number of women members, not exceedingfifteen, as the Government may notify on the basis of number of Union Councils in the Municipalcorporation;

(b) twoworker members;(c) twotechnocratmembers;(d) oneyouthmember;and(e) such non-Muslim members, not exceeding five, as the

Government may not ify for each MunicipalCorporation.

Under the Act of 2013, the District of Lahore has beennamed as the Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore,

comprising Chairmen of all Union Councils in the districtand the following members indirectly elected on thereserved seats, by the Chairmen of the Union Councilspresent andvoting:-

(a) twenty-five womenmembers;(b) five workermembers;(c) threetechnocratmembers;(d) twoyouthmembers; and(e) ten non-Muslimmembers.

Punjab Local Government Act, 2013


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The minimum age for every member of the Councils,Municipal Committees, Municipal Corporation andMetropolitan Corporation has been fixed at twenty-fiveyears. But for Youth members, the qualifying age forbecoming a member is restricted to from twenty-one totwenty-five years. The tenure of all Councils, MunicipalCommittees and Municipal Corporations is five years. Onthe lines of the Basic Democracies Order, 1959, LocalGovernment Ordinances, 1979 and 2001, initially, thePunjab Local Government Act, 2013 provided for holding of elections of the local governments at all levels on non-partybasis. Subsequently, because of persistent demand of thepublic and Courts ’ decisions, by virtue of the Punjab LocalGovernment Act, 2013(XXIII of 2013), passed by theProvincial Assembly on December 13, 2013, it has beenprovided that henceforth all elections under the principallegislation shall be held on party basis through secretballot.

The law provides for setting up two Authorities namely,District Education Authority and District Health Authority forevery district. Each of such Authority shall comprise suchnumber of indirectly elected members from the localgovernments specified in the Schedule annexed to the Actand nominated technocrat members on the basis of proportion of population of the district and in accordancewith the rules to be made for the purpose. The members of the local governments shall be elected by the localgovernments, other than the Union Councils, in the district.The nomination of technocrat members shall be made bythe Government on the basis of their expertise in therelevant field, provided that the number of nominatedmembers shall not exceed the elected members. TheGovernment shall appoint Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Authorities. The law in detail provides the functions of the Authorities. District Education Authority shall, inter alia,manage and supervise the primary, elementary, secondaryand higher secondary schools, adult literacy and non-formal basic education, special education institutions of theGovernment in the district. Likewise, the District Health

Authority is, inter alia, required to establish, manage andsupervise primary and secondary Health care facilities andinstitutions.

Elaborate functions have been assigned, under the law, toall levels of local governments for carrying out civic servicesin their respective spheres. The local governments havebeen empowered to levy duties and taxes. For the purposeof having financial control over the local governments, the

law proposes for appointment of a Finance Commissionheaded by Provincial Minister for Finance. Foradministrative control, a Local Government Commissionhas been set up with Provincial Minister for LocalGovernment as its head. On the lines of Local GovernmentOrdinance, 2001, the new statute contains provisions foramicable settlement of disputes through a ‘ Panchayat ’ and‘Musalihat Anjuman ’ to be constituted by Village Councilsand City Councils respectively. Both the forums shallconsistof nine members, at least two of whom shall be women, tobe nominated by Panchayat and Musalihat Anjuman, as thecase may be. This system of settlement of disputes by the

community itself is also based on the principle of alternatedispute resolution. These are certainly a beneficialinstitution andmay provide a relief from expensivelitigation.Nevertheless, all the good work done in making newlegislation, the holding of election of elections for the localgovernments are not in sight. In this respect, severalpetitions have been made in the superior courts seekingdirections to the Provincial Government for holdingelections expeditiously. Nevertheless, the Governmentalways on one pretext or other successfully pleaded formore time. The local governmental elections and thepeoples; representation at grassroot level, thereforeappearto be a farfetched illusion.


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The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013,passed by the Provincial Assembly generally follows theprovisions of the North-West Frontier Province LocalGovernment Ordinance, 2001, which had come into forceon the 14th day of August, 2001 (since repealed by theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2012). Likethe repealed 2001 Ordinance, the new statute providesDistrict Governments for every district comprising DistrictCouncil and District Administration (district of Peshawarshall, however, be CityDistrictand itslocalgovernment shallbe called the City District Government). The next followsTehsil/Town Municipal Administration and Tehsil/TownCouncils. Nevertheless, under the new law, the Union

Administrations and Union Councils have been replacedwith the Village and Neighborhood Councils for rural andurbanareas respectively. Underthe 2001Ordinance, VillageandNeighborhood Councils were to be declared andset upby theTehsil or TownCouncils in therespective Union areas,whereas under the present statute, Village andNeighborhood Councils make the third tier of the localgovernments. The other distinguishing feature of the new

Act is that unlike the repealed Ordinance, the Nazims,District Councils,Tehsil andTownCouncils areto be headedby the respective Nazimsand notthe Naib Nazimswho onlypreside over the meetings of the Councils in absence of theNazims.

The law provides for various categories of membership forDistricts, Tehsils and Towns Councils as specified in theSecond Schedule to the Act. The said Schedule specifiesgeneral seats on which members are to be elected directlyon the basis of adult franchise and joint electorate. Inaddition thereto, each Council shall have specified numberof seats reserved for women, peasants and workers, youthand non-Muslims. All elections are required to be held onparty basis. The elections for reserved seats are to be heldthrough system of proport ional representat ion.

Accordingly, each political party contesting elections onreserved seats will be required to submit a list of itscandidates forsuch seats. The number of reserved seats forwomen in the District and Tehisl Councils has been reducedto 30% as compared to the seats reserved for women in therepealed 2001 Ordinance where the number of womenreserved seats was fixed at 33%. Nevertheless, the additionof reserved seats for youth is a new phenomenon. Theminimum age for all members of the Councils has beenfixed at twenty-one years, but for youth, the maximum agefor membership is thirty years. The tenure of the local

government hasbeenfixedfor four years.On the lines of 2001 Ordinance, the present 2013 statutedevolves several offices of the Provincial Government uponthe City District Government and District Governments. Thelaw provides that the administrative and financial authorityfor the management of the offices of the ProvincialGovernment shall stand devolved to the City/DistrictGovernments from the commencement thereof. The lateststatute envisages constitutions of a Local GovernmentCommission for looking after the affairs of the localgovernments. It is empowered to conduct inspections

thereof and hold inquiries against a Nazim, Naib Nazim or amember of a Local Council. Where the Commissionconsiders necessary, it may recommend to the Chief Minister of the Province for suspension of a Nazim, NaibNazim or a member of the local government for a period notexceeding thirty days or for taking such action as he mayconsider necessary. TheCommission is given thepowers of a Civil Court in respect of summoning or compelling aperson to appear before it and received avoidance.Similarly, a Provincial Finance Commission has been set upunder the Act to be headed by the Provincial FinanceMinister. The local governments have been given powers toraise funds andlevy taxes on specifiedsubjects. TheKhyberPakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, contains quite afew provisions on the lines of 2001 Ordinance relating todecentralization of several Provincial administrative offices,in particular Health and Education, to the electedrepresentativesof the localgovernments. Thereis alsoquieta force in the claims of the Government regarding bringingof democracy to the doorsteps of the people. Unfortunately,however, the Provincial Government has not yet enforcedthe law as is required under sub-section (3) of section 1 of the Act. It otherwise means that despite passage of 2013

Act, for all practical purposes, the Khyber PakhtunkhwaLocal Government Act, 2012, which is based on 1979Ordinance, is still in force. Even otherwise, no efforts forholding local government elections are in sight. Nor in thisregard, any tentative date for such elections has beenindicated.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013


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The term of the Local Governments which hadtaken chargeas a result of 2005 elections under the provisions of theLocal Government Ordinances, 2001, expired in December2009. In the meanwhile, general elections were held forelection of members of the National Assembly and fourProvincial Assemblies in February, 2008. This resulted intoPeoples ’ Partycominginto power at theFederalas well as inBaluchistan in coalition with several other political parties,including Muslim League (Q), Jamiet-e-Islam(F) and AwamiNational Party. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, itsupportedAwamiNational Party to form the Government. InPunjab, however, Muslim League (N) emerged assuccessful party and formed the government accordingly.But surprisingly, neither the Federal Government nor theProvincial Governments showed any interest to hold localgovernment elections. In this context, several persons intheir individual capacity and organizations moved thesuperior courts for issuing appropriate directions to theFederal and Provincial Governments for holding localgovernment elections forthwith.. The Courts repeatedlyreminded the concerned Governments that it was theirConstitutional obligation to make arrangements for holdinglocal government electionswithout loss of anytime,devolveadministrative, financial and political responsibilities to theelective representative of thepeople. In this connection, in acase titled as President, Baluchistan High Court Bar

Association, Quetta vs Federation of Pakistan and others(P.77 of 2010), the Supreme Court of Pakistan dealing withBaluchistansituationcase observed that-

“ In Baluchistan the public of the province isempowered by holding the election of the local bodies,which otherwise is the obligation of the Government interm of Article32 of theConstitution, which provides:-

“ The State shall encourage local Governmentinstitutions composed of elected representatives of theareas concerned and in such institutions specialrepresentation will be given to peasants, worker andwomen. ”

The Court further observedthat-

“ Under Article 140-A, each provincial government isbound by law to establish a local government systemand devolve political, administrative and financialrespons ibi l i ty and au thori ty to the e lec tedrepresentatives of the local governments. It is not only

the province of Baluchistan but other provinces as wellasTerritory of Islamabadhavenot heldelection sofar. ”

These observations of the apex Court, however, did nothave any effect on the Provincial Governments who werereluctant to make necessary arrangements for holding localgovernments elections on one pretext on other. All theProvinces were, however, unanimous that the respectiveLocal Government Ordinances, 2001, were not acceptablefor various reasons and need to be replaced by newlegislation. In this context, Baluchistan Province took thelead and introduced a new Baluchistan Local Government

Act in 2011. It completed the process and conducted theelections for local governments in the Province inDecember, 2013. The Sindh and Punjab Provinces whowere directed by the Supreme Court for holding localgovernment elections in November, 2013, reluctantly, as afirst step carried out delimitation of constituencies afresh.Side by side grudging that the given time was too short tocomplete the process. The Election Commission was alsodragging its feet in conducting elections during the periodfixed by the Supreme Court on various administrativereasons. To their good luck, thedelimitation process carriedout by Sindh and Punjab Provinces was challenged in theHigh Court of Sindh and Lahore High Court respectively.Both theCourtsheld that under theConstitution of Pakistan,the authority for carrying out delimitation of constituencieslies within the domain of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Provincial Governments had no power tocarry out delimitation. These orders of the High Courts wereassailed in the Supreme Court which upheld the decision of the High Court's directing the Election Commission of Pakistan to complete delimitation process within fivemonths andthe local Governments elections at Federal andProvincial levels should be completed by 15th November2014. This direction will also be applicable for holding localgovernment elections in Cantonments as well as inIslamabadCapital Territory.

It has been pointed out earlier that there are certainreservations to the Provinces in devolving administrative,financial and political authority to the local governments interms of Article 140A of the Constitution. Further, there is ahidden jealousy amongst the National and Provinciallegislators who were against the devolution of aforesaidpowers, particularly in matters relating to developmentwork. Above all,the bureaucracy which has, dueto absenceof non-elected governments for a long period, becomeverystrong, does not like the divesting of their powers to theelected representatives of the people. In absence of localgovernments, the bureaucrats are usually appointed as

Administrators of the local governments; hence they feelhurt in parting such authority. They thus notonly opposethenew system of devolution of powers, rather openlypropagate and depict the system to be the main cause forcorruption and rapid detonation of the norms of the socialvalues. It is thus the time that the Federal Government andProvincial authorities as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan realize their responsibilities vested in them andmake sincere efforts for holding of elections by an early

date. The local governments not only provide civic servicesmore efficiently and solve the people ’s problems at grassroot level with their active participation more convenientlyand effectively. Recently, the Supreme Court has, whiledeciding an appeal filed by the Punjab against the decisionof the Lahore High Court affirming its judgment that undertheConstitution power to delimit theconstituencies lies withthe Election Commission of Pakistan and the Provinces hadno jurisdiction to perform such function,directed thePunjabandSindh Provinces to carry out necessary amendments intheir respective laws within a period of five months from the19th March, 2014. In turn, the Election Commission shall,

Conclusion


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after such amendments, within forty-five days complete thedelimitation work and conduct the local governmentelection by or beforeNovember 15,2014,positively. This is asufficient time for all parties to complete their tasks. Inparticular, the Provinces should prepare the rules and bye-laws as required under the new statutes to be made. In thisrespect, their sincere efforts are needed to hold localgovernment elections expeditiously much before thetargeted date of November 15, 2014. It is a matter of greatconcern that in addition to their functions relating todevelopment work and provision of civic services in theirrespective areas of jurisdiction, the members of the localgovernments at various levels have been given severalassignments under the different statutes to render servicesto the community. In this context, reference is made to theprevisions of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, (VIII1961). Under this enactment, the Chairmen of the UnionCouncils are required to chair the Arbitration Councils inmatrimonial disputes. In absence of the Union Councils, theGovernment is empowered to appoint other persons toconstitute and chair the aforesaid Arbitration Councils.Since, for the last several years, elections of localgovernments have not been held and the Union Councilsare not in existence, the functions assigned to them underthe law are being carried out by bureaucrats. Likewise, thePublic Safety andPolice Complaints Commissions to be setup under thePolice Order, 2002, arenon functional becauseof absence of local governments, the membership of suchCommissions are incomplete without the requisite numberof members from the local governments. This matter shouldbe given a serious consideration by the ProvincialGovernments that because of delay in holding localgovernment elections and making them operational, howmany important enactments or provisions thereof havebeen rendered ineffective. To sum up, it would be expedientto recommendthat-

the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should,without any loss of time, enforce the KhyberPakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, by issuingnotification as required under sub-section(3) of section 1 of thesaidAct;

the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should, if itrequires any change in the del imitat ion of constituencies, in the light of Khyber PakhtunkhwaLocal Government Act, 2013, forthwith intimate theElection Commission of Pakistan for finalizing thedelimitation of constituencies in the Province withinthesameperiodof forty-five days as hasbeen directedby the Supreme Courtin the caseof Sindh and PunjabProvinces. In this regard Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shouldalsocause the necessarymodification in the statute;

thePunjab andKhyber Pakhtunkhwashouldmake therules and bye-laws as required under their respectivelegislation on Local Governments within the period of five months from 19th March, 2014, allowed by theapex Court to Sindh and Punjab for carrying outamendments in theirrespective laws;

the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincesshould, in theinterregnumperiod of five months, makearrangements for publication of ballot papers andprocurementof election material;

both the Provinces and Election Commission of Pakistan should finales the dates of holding of localgovernment elections, preferably much before the15th November, 2014, the last date fixed by the apexCourt for holding of such elections for Sindh andPunjab; and

t h e P u nj ab s h ou l d c o ns id er d ev ol v in g o f administrative offices to the local governments as wasdone through 2001 Local Government Ordinancefollowing the principles laid down in Article 140A of theConstitution of Pakistan.


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Sources of Reference

Constitution Documents (Pakistan), Publishedby Ministry of Law and ParliamentaryAffairs,Government of Pakistan.

TheGovernment of India Act, 1935.

TheConstitutions of theIslamic Republic of Pakistan, 1956, 1962 and1973.

HistoricalBackgroundof LocalGovernment in Pakistan(Political Aspects)by Afzal Khan.

LocalGovernment in Pakistan,CSS Form, Larkana

Lawand Practicesof PunjabLocalGovernments, by Dr. M. Mohy-ud-Din Qazi.

Sindh,Baluchistan, NorthWest Frontier Province andPunjabLocal GovernmentOrdinances 2001.

The Cantonments LocalGovernment Ordinance 2002.

The IslamabadCapital Territory LocalGovernment Ordinance2002.

The PunjabLocal GovernmentAct 2013(Annex).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa LocalGovernment Act 2013(Annex).


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Annex1


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1. Short title, extentand commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab LocalGovernmentAct 2013.

(2) It extends to the whole of the Punjab except theCantonment areas or any other area excluded bythe Government by notification in the officialGazette.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as theGovernment may, by notification [2], appoint anddifferent dates may be appointed for coming intoforce of differentprovisions of this Act.

1. Short title,extent andcommencement

(1) This Act may be called the Khyber PakhtunkhwaLocalGovernment Act, 2013.

(2) It extends to the whole of the province of the KhyberPakhtunkhwa excep t , a reas no t if i ed ascantonments or any other area excluded byGovernment through notification in the officialGazette.

(3) It shall come into force on such dateas Governmentmay, by notification appoint, and different datesmay be appointed for different provisions of this

Act

Annex 1

COMPARISON OF PROVI NCIAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTS OF PUNJAB & KPK 2013

Punjab Local Government Act 2013 KPK Local Government Act 2013

6. Local areas.

(1) The Government shall, by notification in the officialGazette, divide a District into urban area and ruralarea.

(2) For purposes of this Act, the Government shall, bynotification, declare a localareaconsistingof –

(a)Lahore District as Union Councils and theMetropolitan Corporation;

(b)rural area in a District,other than LahoreDistrict,asUnion Councils anda District Council;

(c)urban area in a District, other than the area of aMunicipal Committee, as Union Councils andMunicipal Corporation; and

(d)urban area in a District other than the area of aMunicipal Corporation, as Municipal Committee.

(3) The Government may, by notification in the official

Gazette, after inviting public objections andsuggestions, alter the limits of a local area anddeclare that any area shall cease to be a UnionCouncil, District Council, Municipal Committee orMunicipal Corporation.

(4) Any two or more adjoining local governmentswithina District may, afterinviting publicobjectionsthrough a resolution passed by two-third majorityof the total membership of each of the local

4. Localareasfor localgovernments.

For the purpose of this Act Village, Neighborhood,Tehsil, Town, District and City District shall be localareas for localgovernments.


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governments,make a proposal to theGovernmentfor a changein their respective boundaries subject

to the condition that no revenue estate shall bedivided and the size of population in the relevantlocal area shall, as far as possible, be close to theaverage population of similar local areas in theDistrict.

(1) The Government may, by notification in the officialGazette, divide a local government into two ormore local governments or reconstitute two ormore local governments as one local governmentor alter the limits of a local government and mayspecify in the notification the consequences whichshallfollow the publicationof suchnotification.

(2) When, as a result of such division or reconstitution,any new local government is constituted inaccordance with the provisions of this Act in themanner specified in the notification –

(a)the existing members of any local governmentso divided or reconstituted shall become themembers of such local government as theGovernment may, by notification, specify as if eachsuch member had been elected to that localgovernment; and

(b)Such local government shall, to the extent andin the manner specified in the notification, be thesuccessor of the local government so divided orreconstituted.

(1) A Union Council shall be an area consisting of oneor more revenue estates or, in the case of an areawhere revision of settlement under the law has nottaken place, one or more census villages or, in thecase of an urban area, a census block or blocks asdelimited for purposes of the last precedingcensus or a census block and a revenue estate,notifiedas such by theGovernment.

(2) Asfaras possible

(a)the area of a Union Council shall be a territorialunity;

(b)the boundaries of a Union Council shall notcross the limits of the Metropolitan Corporation, aMunicipal Corporationor a District Council; and

(c)the population of Union Councils within a local

7. Division andreconstitutionof a local government.

8. Delimitation of UnionCouncils.6. Delimitationof Village Council and NeighborhoodCouncil.

(1) A village council shall be an area comprising oneor more muaziaat or, in the case of an area whererevision of settlement under the law has not beentaken,one or more censusvillages;

(2) In the case of an area with urban characteristics, aneighborhood council shall be an area comprisinga whole number of population census blocks asdelimited for the purpose of last preceding censusor a combination of whole number of censusblocks and a whole number of muaziaat, notifiedas such by Government:

Providedthat,as faras maybe,-

(a) the area of a village and neighborhood councilshall be a territorial unity;

(b) the boundaries of a village and neighborhood



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governmentshall be uniform.

(3) The Government shall, in the prescribed manner,delimit a union council into six wards for theelection of members on general Seats and intotwo wards, consisting of three adjoining wards of the union council, for the election of two seatsreservedfor women.

(4) A ward shall ,as far as possible, consist of a part of a village ,one or more adjoining villages and incase of an urban area , a part of a census blocksand ,as far as possible, the population of wardsshallbe uniform.

(1) The Government shall, in the prescribed manner,delimit a Municipal Committee into wards forelection of members of the Municipal Committeeon general seats.

(2) For purposes of delimitation of a MunicipalCommittee, a ward shall,as faras possible,consistof a part of a census block, a census block oradjoining census blocks and the population of wards within a Municipal Committee shall beuniform.

9. Delimitation of wardsin MunicipalCommittees.

councilshallnot crossthe limitsof a tehsil;

(c) the area of a village council shall comprise awhole number of patwar circles, or a patwar circlemaycontain a numberof whole village councils;

(d) the area of a neighborhood council shallcomprise a whole number of census blocks asdelimited for the purpose of the precedingpopulation census or a whole number of muaziaator a combination of a whole number of censusblocksand muaziaat;and

(e) the population of village and neighborhoodcouncil within a district shall range between 2,000to 10,000 calculated on the basis of last precedingpopulation census officially published:Provided

further that in a specific case, Government may, forreasons to be recorded, waive the aforesaidconditions.

Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette,declare tehsils anddistricts notified under theWestPakistan Land Revenue Act, 1967 (W.P. Act XVII of 1967), to be tehsils or, asthe case may be, districtsunder this Act.

Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisionsrelating to District shall, mutatis mutandis,apply to CityDistrict and any reference in these provisions to NazimDistrict Council, Naib Nazim District Council, DistrictGovernment and District Council shall, respectively, beread as reference to Nazim City District Council, NaibNazim City District Council, City District GovernmentandCity District Councilrespectively.

7. Delimitationof Tehsilsand Districts.

8. Provisions of District apply to CityDistrict.

9. Setting up of a Town.

(1) Government may, by notification in the officialGazette, declare a whole number of contiguousvillage councils and neighborhood councils to bea town in thecity district under this Act.

(2) Government shall, by notification in the officialGazette, declare every Town referred to in sub-section (1) to be a Tehsil or Sub-division for thepurpose of this Act.

(3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, theprovisions relating to Tehsil shall, mutatismutandis, apply to Town and any reference inthese provisions to Nazim Tehsil Council, NaibNaz im Tehs il Counc i l , Tehsi l Munic ipal


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10. Waiver of conditions.

11.Constitution of localgovernments.

The Government may, in a specific case and forreasons to be recorded in writing, waive the conditionsof delimitation mentionedin section 8.

“ 10A Finality of delimitation:-Acourt, officeror authorityshall not review or correct any delimitation of a unioncouncil or ward after the notification of the electionschedule ”

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the local governmentsconstituted under this Actshallbe –

(a) Metropolitan Corporation for Lahore Districtand a Municipal Corporation for such urban areaasthe Government maynotify;

(b) a Municipal Committee for such urban area asthe Governmentmay notify;

(c) a District Council for the rural area of a Districtother than Lahoreas theGovernment maynotify;

Ad mi ni st ra ti on an d Tehs il Co un ci l sh al l,respectively, be read as reference to Nazim Town

Council, Naib Nazim Town Council, TownMunicipal AdministrationandTown Council.

(1) Government shall, by notification in the officialGazette, constitute a Delimitation Authority fordelimitation of village councils, neighborhoodcouncils and territorial wards for general seats totehsil, town and, as the case may be, districtcouncils.

(2) All wards for general seats shall, as far aspracticable, be delimited having regard to thedistribution of population in geographicallycompac t a reas , ex i st ing boundar ies o f administrative units, facilities of communicationand public convenience and other cognate factorsto ensurehomogeneityin thecreationof wards.

(3) As far as may be, the wards for elections to thesame council shall be equal among themselves inpopulation.

(1) Subject to other provisions of this Act, localgovernments constitutedunder thisAct shallbe:

(a) a City District Government for districtPeshawar;

(b) a District Government for a district other thanPeshawar;

© a TehsilMunicipalAdministration for a Tehsil;

(d) a Town Municipal Administration for a Town inthe City District;

10. Delimitation Authority and principles ofdelimitation.

5.Constitution of localgovernments.



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11. Compositionof District Government.

12. Devolutionand grouping of offices.

13. Authority and responsibility of DistrictGovernment

(1) In every district, there shall be a districtgovernment which shall consist of a district counciland district administration made up of thedevolved offices.

(2) Executive Authority of district government shallvest in Nazim, district council and he/she shall beresponsible to ensure that the business of thedistrict government is carried out in accordancewith this Act and other laws for the time being inforce.

(1) On commencement of this Act, the organization,

func t ions, admin i st ra t ion and f inanc ialmanagement of local councils in the province shallcome under the administrative and financialcontrol of the successor local governments asprovided in section 121of this Act.

(2) On the commencement of this Act , theadministrative and the financial authority for themanagement of the offices of Government,specified in the first Schedule in a District shallstand devolved to the District Government of thatDistrict.

(3) The Government may, in addition to the officesspecified in sub-section (2), setup other officesspecified in Part-B of the First Schedule in the citydistrict.

(1) Theauthorityof district government shall comprisethe operation, management and control of officesof the departments which are devolved to it;provided that district government shall exercisesuch authority in accordance with general policyof Government.

(2) Every order in district government shall beexpressed to be made in the name of the districtgovernment and shall be executed by a dulyauthorized officer.

(3) The district government shall be responsible to thepeople and the Government for improvement of governance and delivery of services within theambit of authoritydevolvedto it.


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12. Composition of local governments.

13. UnionCouncil.

14. District Council.

A local government, other than an Authority, shallconsist of such number of directly or indirectly electedmembers, Mayor, Deputy Mayor or Deputy Mayors,Chairman, Vice Chairman as is mentioned in FirstSchedule.

(1) A Union Council shall consist of directly electedChairman and Vice Chairman, as joint candidates,six general members one from each ward of theunion council, and the following directly electedmembers on the reservedseats:-

(a)two women members;

(b) one peasant member in a rural Union Councilor oneworker memberin an urbanUnion Council;

(c)one youth member; and

(d) one non-Muslim member where there are atleast two hundred non-Muslim voters registered inthe UnionCouncil.

(2) For purpose of the election of the Chairman andvice Chairman and the members mentioned in theclauses(b),(c),and (d) of subsection (1),the entireunion council shall be one ward and for theelection of the women members mentioned inclause(a) of that subsection, a Union Council shallbe two wards consisting of three adjoining wardsof a Union Council ” .

(1) There shall be a District Council in a District, otherthanLahore District.

(2) A District Council shall consist of the Chairmen of all Union Councils in the area of the DistrictCouncil, and shall include the following membersindirectly elected on the reserved seats by theChairmen of the rural Union Councils present andvoting –

(a) such women members, not exceeding fifteen,as the Government may notify on the basis of numberof Union Councils in theDistrictCouncil;

(b) such peasant members, not exceeding three,as the Government may notify on the basis of numberof Union Councils in theDistrictCouncil;

(c) one technocratmember;

17.Compositionof theDistrict Council.

There shall be a District Council in each district whichshall consist of general seats, seats reserved forwomen, peasants and workers, youth and non-muslims as provided in Part-A of Second Schedule tothisAct.



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14. Functions and Powers of the Nazim, DistrictCouncil.

The functions and powers of Nazim, district councilshall beto-

(a) provide vision for district-wide development,leadership and direction for efficient functioning of district government;

(b) d e v e l op s t r a te g i e s a n d t i m e fr a m e f o raccomplishment of goals approved by districtcouncil;

(c) ensure implementation of devolved functions andmaintain administrativeandfinancial discipline;

(d) oversee formulation and execution of the annualdevelopment plan;

(e) present budget proposals to district council forapproval;

(f) present to district council bi-annual reports on theperformance of offices of district government;

(g) call for quarterly reports from Governmentdepartments in the district, other than thosedevolved to district government, present them todistrict council and forward them to Governmentalong with recommendations of district counciland his comments for consideration andaction;

(h) in i t i a te inspec t ions o f t ehsi l municipa ladministration, village councils and neighborhoodcouncils in the district;

(d)one youth member; and

(e) such non-Muslimmembers,not exceeding five,as the Government may notify for each DistrictCouncil.

(3) The members of a District Council shall, in the firstsession of the District Council, elect, as jointcandidates, from amongst the members of theDistrict Council, the Chairman and the ViceChairman or Vice Chairmen of the District Councilmentioned in the First Schedule, by majority of themembers present and voting.

A District Council shall be a body corporate having

perpetual succession and a common seal, with powerto acquire and hold property and enter into anycontract andmay sueand be sued in itsname.

(1) TheChairmanof a District Council shall

(a) ensure that the business of District Council iscarried out strictly in accordance with this Act andotherlaws;

(b) ensure efficient, effective and transparentfunctioningof the District Council;

(c) ensure accomplishment of operational,developmental and financial objectives set by theDistrict Council or the Government in accordancewith provisions of this Act;

(d)present taxproposals to theDistrictCouncil;

(e) present report on the performance of the localgovernment to the District Council at least twice ina year;

(f)issueexecutive ordersto theChiefOfficer;

(g) represent the District Council at civic orceremonial functions;

(h) exercise general supervision and control overofficers of the District Council;

(i) guide and lead officers in achieving the goalsand targets fixed by the District Council in aneffectiveandefficient manner; and

(j) perform such other functions as the DistrictCouncil may, by a general or special resolution,

73. District Councils.

74. Functionsof Chairman.


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director as may be prescribed.

(2) The Chairman of a District Council shall, in relationto theaboveduties or fortransactionof business of the District Council, exercise such powers as areconferred upon him by or under this Act or anyotherlaw.

(1) The business of a District Council shall beconductedin such manneras maybe prescribed.

(2) The Government may, in the prescribed manner,issue a schedule of establishment for a DistrictCouncil and such schedule may include planning,finance, regulationand infrastructure offices

The District Councilshall

(a) approve bye-laws andtaxes;

(b) approve annual budget of the District Councilincluding supplementary budgetary proposalsandlong term andshorttermdevelopmentplans;

(c) reviewthe performanceof alloffices working forthe District Council;

(d) review the performance report presented bythe Chairman; and

(e) promote social counseling to inculcate civicand community spirit and motivate and galvanizethe general public for compliance with municipallaws,rules and bye-laws.

A District Council shall be responsible for performanceof the following municipal functions –

(a) prevention and removal of encroachment onpublicways, streets andproperties;

(b) prevention of nuisance in public ways, streetsand properties;

(c) regulation of dangerous and offensive articlesand trades mentioned in SecondSchedule;

(d) regulation or prohibition of the excavation of earth, sand, stones or othermaterial;

(e) regulation or prohibition of theestablishment of

75.Conduct of thebusiness of District Council.

76. Functionsof District Council.

77. Other functions of District Councils.

(i) issue executive orders to officers-in charge of thedevolved departments for discharge of their

functions;

(j) represent district government on civic andceremonialoccasions;and

(k) perform any other function as may be assigned tohim by Government.

Nazim District Council, shall be personally responsiblefor any loss flowing from decisions made by himpersonally or under hisdirections in violationof this Actor any other law for the time being in force and for any

expenditureincurredwithout lawfulauthority.

Nazim District Council shall have powers to takedisciplinary action against functionaries in districtgovernment under efficiency and disciplinary rulesprescribedin this regard

The functions and powers of the district council shallbeto-

(a) approve bye-laws for performance of functionsdevolved to district government;

(b) approve taxes on subjectsprovidedin this Act;

(c) approve long term and short term developmentplans, annual and supplementary budgetaryproposals of district government includingproposals for changes in the schedule of establishment for devolved offices and, whererequired, intra-district fiscal transfers;

(d) elect Standing Committee of the district council foreach office of district government to overseematters and service delivery obligations assignedto the office and report to the district council itsfindings on efficiency, responsiveness, servicedelivery standards and performance of therespectiveoffice for review;

(e) elect Finance Committee of the district council forexamination of tax and budget proposals, re-appropriationsandsupplementary grants;

(f) elect District Accounts Committeeto scrutinize the

15. Personal responsibility of Nazim, DistrictCouncil.

16. Disciplinary powers of the Nazim, DistrictCouncil.

18.Functions andpowers ofthe District Council.



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accounts showing appropriations of sums granted bythe district council for expenditure of the district

government, audit reports, statement of incomeand expenditure and such other matters as thedistrict councilmay refer to it;

(g) elect a Committee on Conduct of Business toconsider matters regarding procedure andsmoothconduct of business in thedistrictcouncil;

(h) elect District Committee on Assurances toscrut inize reports on implementation of assurances, promises and undertakings given tothe district council;

(i) elect a Codeof Conduct Committee to oversee theobservance of code of ethicsby themembers;

(j) constitute joint committees of village andneighborhood councils for overseeing working of Government offices, district government officesand municipal offices providing services in theirareas;

(k) make recommendations for enhancement of carefor disabled, disadvantaged and marginalizedsegments;

(l) review reports presented by the Nazim, districtcouncil; and

(m) review reports and recommendations of District Accounts Committee on the accounts of districtgovernment.

In addition to the functions specified in section 18, thedistrict council in a city district shall perform thefollowing functions,namely:

(a) approve master plans, zoning, land use plans,including classification and reclassification of land,environment control, urban design, urban renewaland ecologicalbalances;

(b) review implementation of rules and bye-lawsgoverning land use, housing, markets, zoning,environment, roads, traffic, tax, infrastructure andpublicutilities;

© approve proposals for public transport and masstransit systems, construction of express ways, fly-overs, bridges, roads, under passes, and inter-town streets;

19.Functions ofDistrict Council in City District.

brickkilns, potteriesand otherkilns;

(f) to organize cattle fairs and cattle markets andregulation of sale of cattleand other animals;

(g) celebration of publicfestivals;

(h) assistance in provision of relief in the event of any fire, flood, hailstorm, earthquake, epidemic orother natural calamity and assisting relevantauthoritiesin reliefactivities;

(i) provision of relief for the widows, orphans, poor,persons in distress and children and persons withdisabilities;

(j)promotion of sportsincludingsports forpersons

with disabilities.

(k) provision, improvement and maintenance of public ways and streets, public open spaces,graveyards, public gardens, playgrounds andfarm to marketroads;

(l) assisting Union Councils in provision andmaintenance of rural water supply schemes andpublic sources of drinking water, including wells,water pumps,tanks, ponds andotherworks forthesupply of water;

(m) construction of culverts, bridges and publicbuildings;

(n) control over land-use, spatial planning, land-subdivision, land development and zoning bypublic and private sectors for any purpose,including for agriculture, industry, commercemarkets, shopping and other employmentcen te r s, r e s ident ia l , r ec rea tion , pa rks ,entertainment, passenger and transport freightand transit stations;

(o) enforce all municipal laws, rules and bye-lawsregulating its functioning;

(p) promote animal husbandry and dairydevelopment;

(q) hold fairs and shows, promotion of publicgames and sports, celebration of nationaloccasions;and

(r) undertake otherdevelopment activities.


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78. Structure.

79. ChiefOfficer.

(2) The Chief Officer, in carrying out his functions,shall–

80.Offices of District Council.

(1) The Chairman of a District Council shall be theexecutive head of the District Council and the ViceChairman shall perform the functions of theChairman when the Chairman is unable to performhis functions on account of absence or for anyotherreason.

(2) The Chief Officer shall coordinate and facilitate theperformance of functions assigned to the DistrictCouncilunder supervision of the Chairman.

(1) A Chief Officer shall be responsible for

(a) coordination;

(b) humanresourcemanagement;

(c) publicrelations;

(d)legalaffairs;and

(e) emergencyservices.

(a) supervise and coordinate all offices of theDistrict Council responsible for the provision of municipal services;

(b) prepare a report on the planning andimplementation of development plans of the localgovernment for presentation to the house of thelocalgovernmentin its annual budget session;

(c) ensure that the business of the localgovernment is carried outin accordance with law;

(d) ensure implementation of environmental andsocial safeguards;

(e) effect procurements, as prescribed, inaccordancewith law;and

(f) take action against violators of this Act, rules orbye-laws.

The Government may, in the prescribed manner, issuea schedule of establishment for a District Council andsuch schedule may include planning, finance,municipal regulation and municipal infrastructureoffices.

(d) approve development schemes for beautificationof areas along rivers; and

(e) review development of integrated system of waterreservoirs, water sources, treatment plants,drainage, liquid and solid waste disposal,sanitationand othermunicipal services.

In case of a town in the city district, the city districtcouncil shall perform the functions of approval of suchmacro municipal plans as may be notified by citydistrict government.

20. City District Council to approve certain plans forthe Towns.



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5.Urban localgovernments.

(1) The Metropolitan Corporation shall consist of theChairmen of all Union Councils in the District, andshall include the following members indirectlyelected on the reserved seats by the Chairmen of theUnionCouncils present andvoting –

(a) twentyfive womenmembers;

(b) fiveworker members;

(c) threetechnocratmembers;

(d)two youth members; and

(e) ten non-Muslimmembers.

(2) A Municipal Corporation shall consist of theChairmen of all Union Councils in the area of Municipal Corporation, and shall include thefollowing members indirectly elected on thereserved seats by theChairmenof theurbanUnionCouncils present and voting –

(a) such number of women members, notexceeding fifteen, as the Government may notifyonthe basis ofthe numberof Union Councilsin theMunicipal Corporation;

(b) two worker members;

(c) two technocratmembers;

(d)one youth member; and

(e) such non-Muslimmembers,not exceeding five,as the Government may notify each MunicipalCorporation.

(3) A Municipal Committee shall consist of the directlyelected members from the wards of the MunicipalCommittee mentioned in First Schedule and shallinclude the following members indirectly electedon the reserved seats by the directly electedmembers –

(a) such number of women members, notexceeding five, as the Government may notify onthe basis of the number of wards in the MunicipalCommittee;

(b) such worker members, not exceeding two, asthe Government may notify on the basis of thenumberof wardsin theMunicipal Committee;

(c)one youth member; and


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(d) such non-Muslim members, not exceedingthree, as the Government may notify each

Municipal Committee.

(4) The members of a Municipal Committee shall, inthe first session of the Municipal Committee, elect,as joint candidates, from amongst the members of the Municipal Committee, the Chairman and theVice Chairman of the Municipal Committee bymajority of the memberspresent and voting.

(5) The members of the Metropolitan Corporation or aMunicipal Corporation shall, in the first session of the Metropolitan Corporation or the MunicipalCorporation, elect, as joint candidates, fromamongst the members of the MetropolitanCorporation or the Municipal Corporation, the

Mayor and the Deputy Mayor or Deputy Mayorsmentioned in the First Schedule, by majority of themembers present and voting.

Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be construed toprevent a woman, peasant, worker, technocrat or anon-Muslim from being a candidate or elected to ageneral seat in anylocalgovernment.

(1) Subject to this section, the Government shall, bynotification in the official Gazette, separatelyestablishanddetermine the composition of DistrictEducation Authority and District Health Authorityfor eachDistrict.

(2) Subject to this section, an Authority shall consist of such number of indirectly elected members fromthe local governments under First Schedule andnominated technocrat members as may beprescribed on thebasisof proportion of populationof the District, provided that the elected membersshallbe in majority.

(3) The members of an Authority shall be elected bythelocal governments in theDistrict, other than theUnion Councils, from amongst their respectivemembers in the prescribedmanner.

(4) Thetechnocrat members of an Authorityshallhaveexpertise in the relevant field and shall beappointedby the Government.

16. Saving.

17. Authorities.


(5) The Government shall appoint the Chairman andthe Vice Chairman of an Authority and they shallserveduring the pleasure of the Government.


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(6) The Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority shall be personally responsible to

ensure that the business of the Authority isconducted proficiently,in accordancewith law andto promote the objectivesof the Authority.

(7) The Government may, in the prescribed manner,takeappropriate actionagainst the Chairman, ViceChairman, Chief Executive Officer or any othermember of the Authori ty on grounds of misconduct.

(1) A Union Council shall be a body corporate havingperpetual succession and a common seal, withpower to acquire and hold property and enter into

any contractandmay sue and besued initsname.

(2) A rural Union Council shall be called VillageCouncil and an urban Union Council shall becalledCity Council.

(3) The Chairman of a Union Council shall be theexecutive head of the Union Council and the ViceChairman of the Union Council shall perform thefunctions of the Chairman when the Chairman isunable to perform his functions on account of absence or forany other reason.

(4) AChairman of a Union Councilshall –

( a ) p r o vi d e l e a de r sh i p f o r U n i on - w id edevelopment and preparation of budget and theannual development plan;

(b)present thebudget in theUnionCouncil;

(c) ensure that the business of Union Council iscarried out strictly in accordance with this Act andotherlaws;

(d) issue executive orders to the UnionSecretaries;

(e) represent the Union Council in the DistrictCouncil; and

(f) report to the concerned authorities in respect of -

(i) encroachment on State or local governmentproperty and violation of land use and buildinglaws,rules and bye-laws;

(ii) dangerous and offensive articles and tradesmentioned in SecondSchedule;

71. UnionCouncils.


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(iii) environmental andhealth hazards;and

(iv) adulterationof articles of food.

(5) A Union Council Secretary, under the supervisionof the Chairman, shall coordinate and facilitate incommunity development, functioning of thecommitteesand delivery of municipal services.

(6) The Government may, in the prescribed manner,issue a schedule of establishment for a UnionCouncil.

(1) A Union Councilshall –

(a)approve thebudget of theUnionCouncil;

(b) approve the levy of tax or fee assigned to theUnionCouncil;

(c) nominate members of the Panchayat orMusalihat Anjuman and monitor the performanceof the Panchayator MusalihatAnjuman;

(d) provide, improve and maintain public ways,public streets, public open spaces, graveyards,publicgardensandplaygrounds;

(e) arrange lighting of public ways, public streetsand public places;

(f) mobilize the community –

(i) for maintenance of public ways, public streets,culverts, bridges, public buildings and localdrains;

(ii) for plantation of trees, landscaping andbeautification of public places in the UnionCouncil;

(iii) for prevention and removal of encroachmentson publicways,streets andplaces;

(g) provide and maintain rural water supplyschemes and public sources of drinking water,including wells, water pumps, tanks, ponds andother works for the supply of water and opendrains;

(h) coordinate with the community organizationsfor proper maintenance of rural water supplyschemes and sewerage in the prescribedmanner;

(i) establishcattle pounds;

72.Functions of theUnionCouncil.



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(j) manage and maintain grazing areas, commonmeeting places and othercommon property;

(k) holdfairsand recreational activities;

(l) provide conservancy services in the UnionCouncil;

(m) arrange for registration of births, deaths,marriages and divorces and pass on suchinformation about births, deaths, marriages anddivorces in the Union Council to such persons andinstitutions as may be prescribed;

(n) support a public sector agency to establishpublic facilitation centre in the Union Council forsuch purpose and on such terms and conditions

asmay beprescribed;

(o) support relief measures in the event of any fire,flood, hailstorm, earthquake, epidemic or othernatural calamity and assisting relevant authoritiesin relief activities;

(p) promote local sports;

(q)provide forlibraries andreadingrooms;

(r) take other measures likely to promote thewelfare, health, safety, comfort or convenience of theinhabitantsof theUnionCouncil;

(s) identify deficiencies in delivery of services andmaking recommendations for improvement of services to the District Council, MunicipalCorporationor Metropolitan Corporation;

(t) execute development works in the prescribedmanner; and

(u) maintain such statistics and data as may beprescribed and disseminate information onmatters of publicinterest.

(2) A rural Union Councilhaving urban characteristics,with the approval of the District Council may, and if so directed by the Government shall, perform anyof the following functions –

(a) exercise control over land-use, land-subdivision, land development and zoning bypublic and private sectors for any purpose,including for industry, commerce markets,shopping and other employment centers,residential, recreation, parks, entertainment,passenger and transport freight and transitstations;


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(b) enforce all municipal laws, rules and bye-lawsregulating its functioning;

(c) regulate affixing of s ign-boards andadvertisements;

(d) provide, manage, operate, maintain andimprove the municipal infrastructure and services,including –

(i) water supply and control and development of watersources;

(ii) sewage andsewage treatmentanddisposal;

(iii) stormwater drainage;

(iv) sanitation and solid waste collection andsanitary disposal of solid, liquid, industrial andhospital wastes;

(v)roadsand streets;

(vi) street markings, parking places, transportstations, stops and publictransportstands;

(vii) street lighting;

(viii)firefighting;

(ix) parks, playgrounds, open spaces andarboriculture; and


(x) slaughterhouses;

(e) prevent and remove encroachments;

(f) regulate dangerous and offensive articles andtrades;

(g) collect approved taxes, fees, rates, rents, tolls,charges, finesand penalties;

(h) regulate markets and services and issuelicenses, permits, grant permissions and imposepenalties for violation thereof as and whereapplicable;

(i) manage properties, assets and funds vested inthe UnionCouncil;

(j) develop and manage schemes, including sitedevelopment; and

(k) authorize an officer or officers to issue notice toa person committing any municipal offence andinitiate legal proceedings for continuance of commission of such offence or forfailure to comply


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with thedirections containedin such notice.

(3) The District Council may exercise generalsupervision and control on the performance of functions by the Union Council under subsection(2).

(1) A Municipal Committee shall each be a bodycorporate having perpetual succession and acommon seal, with power to acquire and holdproperty and enter into any contract and may sueand besued initsname.

(2) A MunicipalCommittee shall–

(

Analysis of Local Government Statutes Report

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