KARAK: The members of the village councils have accused the nazims -the councils` heads -of usurping their rights and demanded of the government to empower the village, tehsil and district councils instead of the nazims.

The allegation was made at a protest sit-in staged by the Councillors Ittehad in Takht-iNusrati tehsil here on Tuesday led by Ittehad president Umer Khan.

On the occasion, Umer Khan condemned the nazims for `bypassing` the councils in all decisions and distribution of funds. He claimed the village councillors had established their offices in hujras of their houses.

He alleged the nazims were taking Rs60,000 as rent from the funds of the union councils, and insisted the nazims and C&W engineers had collaborated to usurp the uplift funds of union councils.

Mr Khan also accused the nazims of committing irregularities in award of contracts of development schemes, and said the councillors, who were the integral part of the local government system, had no say in the entire process.

He said the alleged corruption of the nazims had been brought into the notice of provincial local government minister Inayatullah Khan and even Jamaat-i-Islami central chief Sirajul Haq, but they took no action.