LAHORE: The Punjab government has rejected suggestions by the opposition as well as one of its allied parties to restore municipal committees (MCs) in the draft local government law.

MCs would never be restored, government representatives categorically stated in a meeting of the Punjab Assembly`s standing committee on Thursday.

The fifth sitting of the committee cleared 123 out of 222 clauses of the Punjab Local Government Bill 2019.

The PML-Q wants restoration of MCs fearing under the district councils, municipal services in urban areas would be affected in view of a majority of the electedrepresentatives from rural areas in the DCs.

PML-Q representative Sajid Bhatti was missing from the meeting.

A group of PTI like-minded members, as well as the opposition PML-N and PPP, also support the restoration of the municipal committees.

The government also made it clear in the standing committee`s meeting that it would not back out from its stance of holding the forthcoming local polls, the first phase of which is due on May 29, through electronic voting machines (EVMs).

MPA Samiullah Khan, who led the PML-N lawmakers in the panel, has announced taking both the municipalities and EVMs issues to the house, media and on to roads.

He told Dawn that with other stakeholders, theywill try to block the lawmaking on the two issues in the house as well as making a public opinion on them through the media.

As the last option, he says, protests on roads will also be organised to put pressure on the government for revisiting its decision.

The opposition, which boycottedproceedingsofall standing committees, had joined the Local Government Standing Committee only to block the government`s bid to bind the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to use EVMs in the local polls.

The opposition felt that binding the ECP to use EVMs meant there would be no local elections in the near future because the procurement of a large number of machines, notwithstanding other technicalities, would require sufficient time.

It planned to ñght tooth and nail on the restoration of third-tier, municipal committees, in the local government system which the draft law omitted, arguing the omission could cost the urban centres heavily as the district council leaders mainly having votes and support from rural areas, will choose to ignore development and maintenance works in towns and cities.

The PML-Q also objected to the elimination of municipal committees as it had always been part of the system ever since the introduction of local bodies. Earlier, provincial government representatives assured senior PML-Q leader and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi of the restoration of the municipalities to look after urban areas.

Meanwhile, Punjab Social Welfare Minister Yawar Abbas Bukhari said at the launching of a project for engaging citizens in public service delivery here on Thursday that the Local Government Bill 2019 would become law by the end of the month of March.