LB's must have autonomy

Contrary to the very spirit of the local government concept, which purports to empower people at the grass roots level, the Punjab government has been gradually undertaking steps to concentrate authority in its own hands.
Earlier in June, in the run-up to the local bodies elections, the province's Governor had issued an ordinance that gives the power to the Chief Minister to suspend a district nazim for a period of 90 days if he thinks that the nazim is failing to comply with his directions.
That suspension can turn into removal from office if, after conducting an inquiry, the Provincial Local Government Commission recommends to the Chief Minister that the 'errant' nazim be told to go home. Thus practically, it is at the pleasure of the head of the provincial government that the chief of a district or town administration may continue to hold his/her elective office. Acting in the same vein, the provincial government is now said to have decided to introduce a new system of allocating grant money to local bodies.
A report appearing in this paper the other day has revealed that the new system aims to reorganise the financial relations between the local government and the provincial government in order to lead towards the achievement of provincial policy priorities in the development sector. Grants, it says, will be a major instrument of the provincial government for ensuring action by local governments on the Chief Minister's policy priorities.
Towards that end, different provincial departments are to provide the local governments with guidance in setting up their performance targets, and monitor and support projects for ensuring compliance with the CM's policy. So it is the provincial government that would decide what projects and programmes district governments are to implement, and the latter would mostly act as passive followers.
The district, town and 'Taluka' councils, needless to say, are elected not to promote the plans and programmes of the provincial or the federal governments but to address the problems confronting the people at the grass roots level. They have their own legislatures which are supposed to address local concerns, and accordingly approve or disapprove district governments' budgetary allocations to various sectors. Notably, a major part of their funds comes from the Federal Government via the provincial budgetary allocations, since they hardly have any revenue generation sources of their own.
If this money is diverted to the schemes of provincial government's choice, little will be left in the hands of the local governments to spend on what they deem as their own priorities. That would be unacceptable to the electorate. The local governments must have financial autonomy, rather than to look towards the provincial government for directions on how and where to spend the money allocated to them.
However, harmony between the provincial and district governments' goals will always be desirable, for promoting the welfare of the common people. And the right forum to achieve that is the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC). All the stakeholders must be invited to that forum regularly to decide fund allocations.
In fact, last year, the Punjab Finance Minister, Husnain Bahadur Dareshak, had expressed the hope that soon the existing formula of distribution of PFC award, under which 80 percent of the funds are allocated on the basis of population, would be changed to allow for higher allocations to the underdeveloped areas. It is about time that hope is translated into concrete action. The Punjab government must invite all stakeholders in the PFC in order to work out an equitable, multi-criteria formula for fund distribution to district governments. This will not only strengthen the local bodies as an important third tier of government but also help the Chief Minister promote his own policy priorities with the participation and to the satisfaction of the people at large.