Punjab Cabinet has on Thursday approved the draft law of 'Punjab Local Government Act 2012' and also proposed four-year tenure for local bodies institutions under the new local bodies system. Under the proposed Act, the offices of the Mayor and Chairman will be restored and the Deputy Commissioner's post will be reinstated. It was also decided to allocate five percent quota for the youth while 33 percent seats will be reserved for women under the new local government system.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over the Cabinet meeting that gave the approval, disclosed an official. The meeting also granted approval to the setting up of building control authorities at the divisional level to check the incidents resulting from dangerous and dilapidated buildings. The offices of these authorities will also be set up at district and tehsil levels.
Addressing the Cabinet, the CM said that local bodies institutions are considered as nurseries of democracy around the world, which nourish democratic leadership and thereby strengthen democratic traditions through public representatives at the basic level. He also said the Punjab government will introduce such a local government system which will be in line with the demands of the modern age as well as aspirations of the masses for the promotion of democratic process.
"In order to give effective representation to the young generation in decision-making process, five percent quota will be allocated for the youth while 33 percent seats will be reserved for women under the new local government system. Similarly, special seats will be reserved for minorities and farmers as well as workers in local bodies institutions for giving due representation to all segments of the society," he added.
The Chief Minister expressed the hope that the new local government set-up will provide an opportunity to the youth to display their talent and abilities under the democratic system. He said that Punjab will be the first province to have special quota for the youth in local bodies.
"Transparency, merit and good governance are the priorities of the Punjab government and an effective system of accountability will also be adopted for the new local bodies system for ensuring transparent utilisation of every penny of public money. He said the tenure of four years has been proposed for local bodies institutions under the new local bodies system while the provincial government will have the right of special audit of these institutions.
Referring to the building control in the province, the CM directed that a unified system should be evolved to eliminate overlapping in the powers of development authorities and town municipal administration in this regard. He said development authorities will be responsible for building control in their notified areas. "The Punjab government has sent the draft of Punjab Building Control and Housing Authority Bill to law department for scrutiny," he added.
According to him, commissioners will be the chairmen of these authorities at the divisional level while the chief executive Officer of the authority will act as its secretary/member. Sub-offices of these authorities will also be established at the district and tehsil levels. Development authorities will be responsible for dealing with the matters relating to building control, management of housing schemes, implementation of relevant laws and other issues.
Establishment of the authorities is necessary to check the tragic incidents like Kharak. Also, the process of inspection of industrial institutions should be outsourced and immediate replacement of substandard boilers of factories should be ensured so as to protect the lives of the workers.
Appreciating the performance of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), the Chief Minister said the measures taken by the government have encouraged talented and hardworking candidates. He granted approval to the construction of the new building of PPSC, he said this institution has displayed commendable performance regarding implementation of the merit policy. He lauded the role of Director Information Technology in making PPSC system online and said that a policy be devised for encouraging officers and staff showing the best performance in all institutions for promoting competitive spirit for the benefit of the masses.
On the occasion, the PPSC Chairman presented the annual performance report of the institution. He informed the meeting that 310,333 applications were processed during 2011, 21,000 candidates were interviewed while recommendations were made for recruitment against more than 5600.
The Secretaries Industries, Local Government and Housing briefed the Cabinet regarding building control, shifting of industrial units from the city and overlapping of the powers of development authorities. Punjab Finance Secretary presented the annual report of Punjab Pension Fund. In the meeting, the Chief Minister congratulated minority member Rana Asif Mehmood on assuming the office of Punjab Finance Minister and expressed the hope that he will perform his responsibilities efficiently.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of Punjab government has said that Punjab Cabinet has not taken any decision with regard to holding the local government elections on party or non-party basis. He said the decision with regard to holding local government elections on party or non-party basis has been left to the Punjab Assembly.
Comments
Comments are closed.