Transitions in Punjab local government reviewed

Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood and Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat jointly chaired a high level meeting held Chief Minister House here on Monday during which the process of transfer of powers and assets under the new Punjab Local Government Act was considered and consulted.

The meeting was also attended by Provincial Minister for Housing Mian Mahmood Al-Rasheed, Provincial Minister for Finance Hashim Javan Bakht, Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Shaukat Ali, Secretary Finance Abdullah Sumbal, Additional Secretary Local Government Muhammad Arshad and other officials. Additional Chief Secretary Local Government Tahir Khurshid participated through video link due to Covid-19 quarantine. The Federal Minister was briefed on Punjab Local Government Act 2019.

Speaking on the occasion, Shafqat Mahmood said “The new local bodies system of Punjab is one of the top priorities of Prime Minister Imran Khan that guarantees the transfer of power to the people at the grassroots level.  Therefore, the process of transfer of powers and assets including local bodies’ elections should be completed smoothly.”

Raja Basharat said that Prime Minister Imran Khan himself attended several meetings during the preparation of the new Punjab Local Government Act and gave full guidance to the Punjab government. He said, the” the new local body law is comprehensive in all respects and in line with the aspirations of the people. In the new local government system, various sectors including education, health and housing would go to the local government.” Raja Basharat said that necessary legal amendments are also being made to make the new local government system more useful and people friendly.

Additional Chief Secretary Local Government Tahir Khurshid said that work is underway on the process of transfer of powers and assets. He said that all resources were being utilized to bring the new local body system in line with the vision of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Punjab. ACS LG&CD further said that in order to adapt the system to modern requirements, information technology training is being imparted to the employees of the local bodies and twelve departments of the LG&CD were being digitized.