Punjab governor signs local govt bill into law
- By Web Desk -
- May 04, 2019
LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar ratified the Punjab Local Government Bill, 2019 on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led provincial government is fulfilling the promise it had to the people to devolve powers to the lower-tiers of administration.
“We are empowering the public in line with vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan” Sarwar said, adding local government representatives will now enjoy powers in true sense.
He said serving the masses is a focal point of the PTI manifesto.
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The Punjab Assembly had earlier on Tuesday passed two Bills to replace the existing local bodies with a new local government system amid protest by opposition parties, particularly the PML-N.
The provincial legislature passed the Punjab Local Government Bill, 2019 and the Punjab Villages Panchayats and Neighborhood Councils Bill, 2019.
The Punjab government plans to hold elections for the new local bodies within one year.
According to the new local government system, the village council and mohalla council would be elected through non-party election system, while election would be held on a party basis at tehsil and municipal level.
There will be a system of tehsil and village councils under the Act as the district and union council system would cease to have effect following the approval of the bill.