Minister for awareness about new LG system

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Local Government (LG) Raja Basharat has said the role of civil society in creating awareness about the new Punjab LG Law 2019 and capacity-building of LG representatives was very crucial.He stated it during a meeting with a delegation of civil society held at Darbar Hall, civil secretariat on Wednesday. The delegation was comprised of Salman Abid, Shehzada Irfan, Ms Bushra Khaliq, Ms Feroza Batool, Faizan Waraich, Ms Nabila Shaheen, Ms Umme Lela Azher, Ms Sammia Yusuf, Shehryar Waraich and others belonging to different NGOs and media houses.Appreciating the new LG law, the members of delegation suggested some amendments in the law regarding reduction in the minimum age for a LG candidate from 25 to 22 years and giving 33pc representation to the women at all levels of the LGs.Answering the queries of the participants, Raja Basharat said that the new Punjab LG law was drafted with the deep consultation of almost all stakeholders wherein 14 amendments proposed by the opposition were included in the draft.He said, “Punjab LG law enjoys complete ownership and commitment of the government as Prime Minister Imran Khan himself chaired almost 17 meetings held during its drafting process. I think the defunct LBs were toothless and resource less as the PML-N government didn’t permit their LB representatives to take oath for two years.It was known that the PML-N government allocated Rs 50 billion for LBs but actually they could receive only 10 per cent of that budget. On the other side, our LBs will receive almost 100 billion rupees directly from the Punjab government. There was no separate identity of a citizen living in a vast Union Council but Panchayat will give him a visible identity as each village will be a separate local body in its place.”LDA: On directions by Director General, Lahore Development Authority, Amna Imran Khan for ensuring transparency in execution of development projects, Additional Director General (Urban Planning) Rana Tika Khan visited roads earmarked for rehabilitation and improvement in Allama Iqbal Town and Samanabad on Wednesday and verified the locations and estimates of these schemes.He underlined the need for prioritising the development schemes in the backdrop of local requirements. “Facilitating maximum number of people should be the sole consideration for executing development projects in the city, especially in view of the limited resources available for this purpose,” he observed.Director Planning and Development, LDA, informed him that widening and improvement of Joray Pul Chowk, near Umer Block Allama Iqbal Town, will be carried out at a cost of Rs46 million for improving traffic circulation at this point, benefiting thousands of vehicles daily passing there.He said that rehabilitation and improvement of main boulevard Samanabad, from Multan Road to Naya Mozang Roundabout will be executed at a cost of Rs10 million. LDA has allocated a sum of Rs200 million for repair, maintenance and patch work of internal roads of various housing schemes, he added.

from The News International - Lahore http://bit.ly/2V6hz20