LAHORE: Following a nod by the Punjab cabinet and final tweaks made afterwards, the Punjab government has moved a bill `Punjab Local Government Act 2024` to the Punjab Assembly for legislation.

The new legal regime is expected to ingrain the experience and cooperation of political people that suits ground realities.

Among other changes, the PLGA 2024 Bill reflects the Punjab government has abolished the Lahore Metropolitan Corporation as well as district councils across the province and introduced town corporations in all big cities, including Lahore.

Each town corporation will be headed by a mayor and have a deputy mayor or vice-chairman besides elected members.

The PLGA 2024 Bill has given municipal corporations in integrated urban areas in all districts having a population above 200,000. The municipal committee will be formed in an integrated urban area in a district having population above 25,000 to 200,000. The tehsil council will comprise a rural area of a tehsil and urban area.

The Lahore district will have 10 municipal corporations each consisting of a mayor and two deputy mayors besides elected and ex-officio members.

The local government system will have municipal committees and union councils as its lower tiers.

The PLGA 2024 Bill says thelaw aims at ensuring proper devolution empowering the local government to function independently for the good of the people as well as to ensure proper delegation of power to the local governments as enshrined in Articles 2A and 140A of the Constitution.

The local governments in Punjab, it may be mentioned, constituted under the PLGA 2013 were dissolved by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf`s Punjab government in May 2019, soon after coming to power.

Since then the preparation of the PLGA was in the pipeline and the Election Commission of Pakistan had continued exerting pressure and severally summoned the Punjab chief secretary as well as the local government and community development (LG&CD) department secretary during the PTI, caretaker government as well as the incumbent PML-N government`s rule in the province.

The incumbent PML-N government had also been delaying the finalisation of the PLGA 2024 Bill. However, PTI MPAs say, the incumbent government had decided to go ahead for the local government elections in a steadfast manner only after the PTI had been pushed against the wall and its political identity snatched.

The LG&CD secretary, it is learnt, has written a letter to the ECP that the bill had been approved by the Punjab cabinet and sent to the Punjab Assembly.

The PLGA 2024 Bill has been introduced to the Punjab Assembly to reconstitute localgovernments in the province and consolidate laws relating to powers and functions of the local governments. The local governments will serve as third tier of the government and consolidate laws relating to powers and functions of local governments for establishing an effective elected local government system for meaningful devolution of political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments as envisaged under Article 140A of the Constitution; to promote good governance, effective delivery of services and transparent decision making through institutionalised participation of the people at locallevel.

After passing of the Act by the Punjab Assembly, it shall extend to the whole of Punjab except the areas notified as cantonments or exempted by the government from any or all of the provisions of the Act through a notification in the official gazette.

The local government legislation has provisions to ensure proper representation of people from all walks of life including women, minorities, etc.

COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: A local government shall consist of a head (mayor), deputy mayor or vicechairperson (VC), as the case may be.

Each of the town corporations, municipal corporations will comprise a mayor, two deputy mayors, chairpersons of all union councils in its local areaas its ex-officio members as well as members on seats reserved for women, non-Muslim, peasant or worker, technocrat, youth and disabled.

The Municipal Corporation Murree will have a separate set of members.

A tehsil council shall consist of a chairperson and two vicechairpersons; all UCs chairpersons in the local area will act as ex-officio members besides reserved members. In the municipal committee, there will be a chairperson, a vicechairperson, ex-officio members and members on reserved seats. A UC shall consist of nine general members and four members a woman, a peasant, a youth and a non-Muslim on reserved seats.

In case of town corporation, municipal corporation and tehsil council, the deputy mayors or VCs shall act as speaker, on a rotation basis, for a period of six months provided that the deputy mayor or VC, senior in age, shall be the first speaker.

The Municipal Committee VC shall act as speaker of the House. Similarly, the VC of a union council shall act as speaker of the House.

ELECTION METHOD: The election of general members of the UCs shall be held through secret ballot on the basis of adult franchise, in such a manner as may be prescribed. For the purpose of election of general members of a UC, the entire local area of the UC shall be a multi-member ward.

The Act says a voter may cast one vote in favour of the candidate of general member of hischoice. The nine candidates securing highest number of votes in descending order, shall stand elected as general members.

The members on reserved seats of UCs shall be elected indirectly, through show of hands, by the general members of the union council.

The chairperson and VC of a UC shall be elected, as joint candidate, by the general members and members on reserved seats of a UC, through show of hands, from amongst themselves.

The returned candidates of chairperson, VC and members may join a political party within 30 days of notification of returned candidates.

All chairpersons of UCs falling in its local area shall become ex-officio members of the House of respective town corporations, municipal corporations except Murree and tehsil council. The ex-officio members shall elect the members on reserved seats through show of hand, by majority of the members present and voting, in the prescribed manner.

All members of the UCs falling in its local area and members on reserved seats of the House of the local government concerned shall elect mayor and two deputy mayors or two vicechairpersons, as the case may be, as joint candidate, through show of hand, by majority votes of members present and voting, in the prescribed manner.

The Election Commission shall use the electoral rolls prepared under the Elections Act 2017 for elections under the PLGA 2024.