Tehsil chairpersons, including Peshawar Mayor Haji Zubair Ali, have petitioned the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against the Secretary Local Government’s decision to transfer financial and administrative powers to the local council board.
In their petition, the PHC has been requested to annul the notification issued by the Secretary LG. Mayor Peshawar filed the writ petition through his lawyer, Muhammad Farooq Afridi Advocate.
The petition names Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary, Secretary Local Government, Chairman Local Council Board, Secretary Finance, and others as respondents.
The government issued a notification authorizing officers from grade 19 to grade 17 to utilize funds at the Union Council level.
According to the official notification, the District Development Working Party (DDWP) can approve projects up to Rs200 million, while the District Development Committee (DDC) and Tehsil Development Committee (TDC) can approve projects worth Rs60 million and Rs20 million, respectively.
The board has set conditions for project approval, requiring projects to be sent to the Planning and Development (P&D) Department for approval and referred to the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) for further consultation.
For projects involving subsidies or foreign aid, the PDWP is the competent authority for approval. Additionally, the Secretary has full authority for administrative approval.
The petition argues that under Article 32 of the Constitution, local government institutions should be encouraged to allow elected representatives at the grassroots level to serve the public.
The Constitution mandates that every province will have a local government system with financial and administrative powers. It is the government’s responsibility to transfer powers to the grassroots level, the petition notes.
In line with this, the Local Government Act was passed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in 2013 to regulate these issues.
However, on July 12, Local Government Secretary Daud Khan issued a notification transferring financial and administrative powers related to development projects at the local council level to the Secretary Local Council Board.
The petition claims this move undermines the councils’ effectiveness and abolishes the existence of local government under Article 140A of the Constitution.
The notification from the Secretary Local Government assigns all administrative and financial powers to the Secretary Local Council Board. However, under the Local Government Acts of 2013 and 2019, power transfers can only occur through amendments in the provincial assembly.
According to Mayor Peshawar Haji Zubair Ali, the main function of the Local Council Board is to manage appointments, promotions, transfers, and pensions.
