The Sindh government move to take back financial powers of district councils and authorising commissioners and deputy commissioners to release funds despite the opposition of local governments department, has upset provincial minister for local governments Agha Siraj Durani.
Displeased by the move, Durani has decided to take up the matter with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari to stop Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah from interfering in the matters of Local Governments department. Sources in Services and General Administration department told Business Recorder that Secretary S&GA had issued two separate notifications on March 20, one about Karachi and second about the District Councils of Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and other districts.
The notification about Karachi states, "Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of the Karachi are the competent authority to approve and release the funds to district councils, defunct Town Municipal Administrations (TMAs) and Union Councils (UCs)." The second notification says, "Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of other districts would be the competent authorities to approve and release the funds of District councils."
The Services and General Administration department has given the additional charges of district councils to concerned Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners. However, the Local Government minister opposed the notifications but in vain as the Chief Minister approved it, the sources added.
As the Chief Minister refused to withdraw the notification, Agha Siraj Durrani has decided to meet President Asif Ali Zardari and lodge protest against his own party CM. A commissioner told this scribe on condition of anonymity that though he had received the notification but he was asked not to use the powers by the people of Minister of Local Government. He said that he and some other commissioners and Deputy Commissioners had informed the concerned authorities about the situation.