Govt mulls new LG law with urban, rural divide
Pakistan
It is proposed to have 600 union councils in Lahore
LAHORE (Dunya News) - The Punjab government is considering to amend the Local Government Act, which aims to fully separate urban and rural areas.
According to Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq, the draft Act proposes establishing a metropolitan corporation in each divisional headquarters.
Local government constituencies will be formed according to the new census, and union councils will be set up in areas with populations under 20,000.
Also read: Electoral watchdog getting ready for LG elections in Punjab
In Lahore, it is proposed to have 600 union councils. Additionally, metropolitan corporations will be created for populations exceeding 700,000.
The draft Municipal Act 2024 suggests forming a town committee for population between 15,000 and 50,000, and a municipal committee for population between 50,000 and 200,000.
The Act also proposes creating municipal corporations for populations ranging from 200,000 to 500,000. There is also a proposal to fix the term of four years.
The local government minister highlighted that smaller local governments will have more powers. He noted that the new law would be comprehensive and significantly different from the previous act in all respects.
