Punjab Local Government Act 2013 would be tabled soon:Rana Sana

Lahore: Provincial Minister for Local government, Rural Development, Law & Parliamentary Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan has directed the relevant authorities of the department of LG&RD Punjab to finalize the proposed Punjab Local Government Act 2013 as early as possible so that the PML-N led Provincial Government could be enabled to table this new Act before the Punjab Assembly for its formal approval.

Addressing to the briefing session at Civil Secretariat Lahore regarding administrative management and provision of quality municipal services in Punjab at TMAs level, Rana Sanaullah Khan said, PML-N has obtained record number of votes from every nook and corner of Punjab, the largest province of the country in terms of population, because the people at large have reposed confidence in the administrative vision of “Khadim-e-Punjab”  Mian Shahbaz Sharif while the people of Pakistan have acknowledged the sincerity and statesmanship of Mian Nawaz Sharif by bringing him to the office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the third time which is a unique record in the history of Pakistan.  PML-N will devolve this power of governance to the door step of the people of Pakistan by holding local bodies election as soon as possible after finalizing the initial draft of Punjab Local Government Act 2013 on war footing after which the government will be enabled to conduct local bodies election. Every elected councilor of 3464 union councils of Punjab will definitely become equal partner of power and engine of growth in the province of Punjab, the Minister added.

Secretary LG&RD Punjab Dawood Muhammad Bareej while giving briefing to the Minister said that the total financial capacity of this provincial department is rupees forty seven billion per annum out of which funds amounting rupees twenty four billion have been spent on various developmental schemes at districts, towns and tehsils municipal administration while rupees twenty billion is meant for non-development budget  of the department.

The engineering wing of LG&RD Punjab has completed 1441 development schemes at the cost of more than rupees three billion in 26 districts of the province during the current fiscal year. The utilization rate is more than 87%. LG&RD Department Punjab has big source of income from 1% ratio  of property tax imposed on the transfer of urban immovable property tax while the levy collected from the cattle markets throughout the province reaches to the tune of rupees two billion per annum.

The Provincial Minister reviewed in detail the pace of work in five city district governments, 31 district governments and all the TMAs of the province besides reviewing the performance of Punjab Local Government Board, Punjab Municipal Development Fund, Punjab Municipal Services Infrastructure Fund and the wings pertaining to Human Resource Management, Establishment Services Management, Budget section and Financial Management of the Department.

The Minister was informed that Lahore Walled-city Project has been re-invigorated while the Bahawalpur Development Authority will also be made functional very soon.