THE PUNJAB LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 2019
(Act
XIII of 2019)
C O N T E N T S
Section Heading
PART
1
PRELIMINARY
Chapter I – Applicability and
Interpretation
1. Short
title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
2A. Elections
Act to apply.
Chapter II – Succeeding Local
Governments and their General Responsibility
3. Dissolution
of existing local governments.
4. Succession
of the defunct local governments.
5. General
authority and responsibility of a local government.
6. Local
governments to work within the Provincial framework.
7. Certain
matters to be prescribed.
PART 2
CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONING OF
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Chapter III – Local Areas
8. Demarcation
of local areas.
9. Classification
of urban local areas.
10. Change
of name of a local area.
11. Periodic
review of local areas.
12. Power
of the Government to direct special reviews.
13. Procedure
for review of local areas.
14. Changes
in the limits and re-classification of local areas.
Chapter IV – Local Governments
15. Constitution
of local governments.
16. Name
of a local government.
17. Division,
amalgamation or re-classification of local governments.
Chapter V – Composition of Local
Governments
18. Local
government structure.
19. Composition
of the head’s cabinet.
20. Representation
of councillors in the councils.
Chapter VI – Functions of Local
Governments
21. Responsibility
of local governments.
22. Assignment
of additional responsibilities by Government.
23. Extent
of Government control on functions of the local governments.
24. Discharge
of functions by local governments.
25. Delegation
of functions to Panchayats and Neighbourhood Councils.
26. Agency
arrangements.
27. Appointment
of an undertaker by Government.
28. Delegation
of functions etc. and agency arrangements not to diminish responsibility of a
local government.
29. Quality
and accessibility of public services.
Chapter VII – Joint Authorities
30. Establishment
of joint authorities by voluntary action.
31. Subsequent
joining of a local government.
32. Power
of the Government to establish joint authority in relation to certain
functions.
33. Operating
Officer of a joint authority.
34. Joint
committees to oversee and direct functions of joint authorities.
35. Expenses
of a joint authority how defrayed.
36. Assets
etc. of a joint authority.
37. Dissolution
of a joint authority.
38. Succession
of a joint authority.
Chapter VIII – Authority of Local
Governments
39. Extent
of authority of local governments.
40. Manner
of exercise of authority by a local government.
41. All
acts and orders to be taken or made in the name of local government.
Chapter IX – Duties of Certain
Functionaries
42. Duties
and powers of a head of the local government.
43. Duties
and powers of a convenor.
44. Duties
of a councillor.
45. Duties
and powers of Chief Officer.
46. Attendance
of council meetings etc. by Chief Officer.
47. Duty
of Chief Officer etc. in case of an illegal order or instruction.
48. Personal
responsibility for acts done and expenditure incurred without lawful authority.
Chapter X – Contracts
49. Principles
governing contracts.
50. Form
of contract.
51. Power
to make contract.
52. Validity
of a contract.
Chapter XI – Meetings of the Council
53. Disposal
of business of a local government.
54. Business
of the council to be disposed of at meetings.
55. Decisions
at the meetings how made.
56. Ordinary,
special and emergency meetings.
57. Presiding
over of council meetings.
58. Quorum
of council meetings.
59. Frequency
of council meetings.
60. Councillors,
members and certain other persons to abstain from meetings on account of
personal interest.
61. Vacancy
or defect in membership not to effect power of a council to act.
62. Right
of public to attend council and committee meetings.
63. Preservation
of order at council meetings.
64. Record
of proceedings of meetings.
65. Indemnity
of councillors in relation to anything said in proceedings of a meeting.
66. Defraying
of expenses in relation to meetings.
67. Bye-laws
for meetings.
Chapter XII – Committees and
Sub-committees of the Council
68. Appointment
of committees and sub-committees.
69. Membership
of a committee or a sub-committee.
70. Requirement
of political balancing in the committees.
71. Cessation
of a committee or sub-committee.
72. Cessation
of membership of a committee or sub-committee on loss of membership of council.
73. Exemption
from personal liability of a member who is not a member of local government.
74. Bye-laws
for committees and sub-committees.
75. Certain
provisions of Chapter XI to apply to committees and sub-committees.
PART 3
ELECTIONS, TERM OF OFFICES AND
RELATED MATTERS
Chapter XIII – Authority for Local
Government Elections
76. Election
Commission to conduct local government elections.
77. Submission
of complaints.
78. Election
Commission to report on elections and certain other matters.
79. General
powers of the Election Commission.
80. All
authorities and persons to assist the Election Commission.
81. Delegation
of powers.
82. Election
Commission to regulate its own procedure.
Chapter XIV – Election Method,
Franchise and Related Matters
83. Election
method in general.
84. Electoral
units.
85. Enlistment
of an electoral group.
86. [Procedure
for constitution of electoral units.] [Omitted]
87. Electoral
rolls.
88. [Electoral
rolls to be open to inspection and purchase.] [Omitted]
89. [Right
to enrolment as a voter.] [Omitted]
90. Right
to vote.
Chapter XV – Conduct of Elections
91. Notification
of election date and call up for election.
92. Only
nominated and eligible persons allowed to contest elections.
93. Polling
stations and appointment of electoral officers.
94. All
political parties, electoral groups and candidates allowed to appoint election
and polling agents.
95. [Rights
and power of an election agent or polling agent.] [Omitted]
96. Code
of Conduct for elections.
97. Returned
candidates.
98. Election
to be called in question only before Election Tribunal.
99. Election
Tribunal. [Omitted]
100. Powers
of the Election Tribunal.
[Omitted]
101. Procedure
for hearing of an election petition. [Omitted]
102. Decision
of Election Tribunal and right of appeal. [Omitted]
103. Ground
for declaring the election of a returned candidate void. [Omitted]
104. Declaration
of a person other than a returned candidate as elected. [Omitted]
105. Declaration
of an election as a whole void. [Omitted]
106. Notification
of election, resignation and removal.
107. Limit
of election expenses and consequences of exceeding such limit.
108. Duty
to declare election expenditure and consequences of failure.
Chapter XVI – Qualifications and
Term of Office of Councillors
109. Qualification
for being a candidate and to hold the office of head of the local government,
convenor or councillor.
110. Defection
from a political party or electoral group.
111. Effect
of being found to be disqualified to be candidate, head of the local
government, convenor or councillor.
112. Bar
against double membership and requirement to tender resignation to contest for
certain other political offices.
113. Term
of office of the council, head of the local government, convenor and
councillors.
114. Oath
of office and submission of declaration etc.
115. Every
head of the local government, convenor and councillor to declare assets
annually.
116. Effect
of failure to take oath or submit declaration.
117. Resignation
by a head of the local government, convenor or councillor.
118. Fresh
elections in case of vacancy in the office of the head of the local government.
119. Filling
of casual vacancies of convenor and councillors.
120. Temporary
accession to the office of a head of the local government and convenor.
121. Power
of the Government to appoint an administrator.
PART 4
LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND
PROPERTIES
Chapter XVII – Local Government
Funds
122. Funds
of a local government.
123. Credit
of moneys to a local fund.
124. Application
of local fund.
125. Credit
of monies to public fund.
126. Application
of public fund.
127. Custody
of funds.
128. Investment
of surplus funds.
129. Cognizance
of wrongful application of moneys.
Chapter XVIII – Local Government
Budget
130. Legal
basis for local government expenditure
131. Submission
of estimates of receipt and expenditure by head of the local government and its
approval.
132. Government
to certify estimates if not approved by a local government.
133. Revision
of the approved estimates.
134. Duty
of a local government to readjust income and expenditure in certain cases.
135. Receipts
to always exceed the expenditure of local governments.
136. Ring
fencing of expenditure of local governments.
137. Authority
of the Government to review approved estimates.
138. Advance
notification of provisional amounts by Finance Commission.
Chapter XIX – Borrowing by Local
Governments
139. Power
of a local government to borrow money for certain purposes.
140. Conditions
precedent for approval of a loan and methods of borrowing.
141. Local
Development Fund.
142. Limits
on authority of local government to borrow moneys.
143. Application
of sums raised by borrowing.
144. Repayment
of borrowed moneys.
145. Sinking
fund.
146. Investment
of sinking fund.
147. Inspection
of sinking funds and payment of any deficient amounts by local government.
148. Attachment
of local fund in default of repayment of loan.
149. Annual
statement of moneys borrowed.
Chapter XX – Local Government
Properties
150. Local
government properties.
151. Application
of local government properties.
152. Disposal
of local government properties.
153. Resumption
of a property by the Government.
154. Annual
stock take of local government properties.
155. Insurance
of certain local government properties.
Chapter XXI – Local Government
Taxes, Fees, Rates and Tolls
156. Authority
of a local government to levy taxes etc
157. Procedure
for imposition, revision or abolishment of a local tax etc.
158. Date
on which local taxes etc. become effective.
159. Rating
areas and property tax.
160. Power
of the Finance Commission in case of unfair local taxes etc.
161. Duty
to furnish information on liability to local tax etc.
162. Power
of entry for the purpose of valuation of local taxes etc.
163. Presentation
of bill for local taxes and rates.
164. Notice
of demand to be issued on non-payment of bill.
165. Payment
of local tax etc. subsequent to receipt of bill or notice of demand and consequences
of default.
166. Investigation
of objections by Chief Officer.
167. Opportunity
to make appeal against the determination of Chief Officer.
168. Liability
for local tax etc. to be called in question only under this Act.
169. Payments
to be made in authorized banks against receipts.
170. Writing
off of irrecoverable taxes etc.
171. Tax
etc. not to become invalid for defect in form.
172. Records
pertaining to valuation, assessment and collection of local tax etc.
173. Authority
of the Government to appoint any of its agency or officer for local tax
collection.
Chapter XXII – Local Government
Finance Commission
174. Establishment
of Local Government Finance Commission.
175. Term
of office and premature removal of certain members.
176. Casual
vacancies.
177. Eligibility
for appointment as an expert or a member representing heads of the local
governments.
178. Certain
restrictions to apply on subsequent employment of an expert member.
179. Oath
of office of members of Finance Commission.
180. General
functions of the Finance Commission.
181. Right
of local governments to refer objections to Finance Commission.
182. Procedure
of Finance Commission.
183. Duty
of local governments and other public entities etc. to cooperate with Finance
Commission.
184. Secretariat
of the Finance Commission.
Chapter XXIII – Inter-governmental
Fiscal Transfers
185. Provincial
allocable amount and transfers to the local governments.
186. Process
for determination of provincial allocable amount and share of individual local
governments.
187. Duty
of Finance Commission to consider views of Government and local governments.
188. Term
of formulae on share of local governments and their revision.
189. Principles
for determining provincial allocable amount.
190. Principles
for determining transfers to individual local governments and related grants.
Chapter XXIV – Local Government
Accounts and Audit
191. Accounts
of local governments to be kept in the prescribed manner.
192. Annual
statement of accounts.
193. Monthly
abstract of accounts.
194. Authority
for audit of local government accounts.
195. Extra-ordinary
audits.
196. Audit
reports.
197. Consideration
of audit report and duty to remedy defects.
198. Authority
of Auditor General to inspect documents etc.
199. Punishment
for obstruction etc. in the audit.
200. Statement
of accounts and audit reports to be made public.
201. Audit
fees.
PART 5
ACCOUNTABILITY, OVERSIGHT AND
RESPONSIVENESS
Chapter XXV – Internal Controls
202. Power
of the council to remove a head of the local government and convenor.
203. Certain
limitations to apply in bringing a resolution for removal of a head of local
government and convenor.
204. Oversight
through committees of the council.
205. Internal
inspections.
206. Internal
inquiries.
Chapter XXVI –Continuous
Supervision of Local Governments
207. Inspectorate
of Local Governments.
208. Yearly
inspections.
209. Special
inspections.
210. Powers
of the person inspecting a local government.
211. Local
governments to take action on inspection report.
Chapter XXVII – Responsiveness to
Citizens Needs
212. Duties
of local governments towards residents of local area.
213. Requirement
to consult residents in certain cases.
214. Community
initiatives.
Chapter XXVIII – Transparency
215. General
rules of conduct.
216. Conflict
of interest.
217. Duty
to abstain from proceedings in case of conflict of interest.
218. Register
of interests.
219. Code
of Conduct for councillors, officers etc.
220. Misconduct.
221. Certain
orders to be in writing or to be reduced to writing.
222. All
orders of local government to be open to inspection.
Chapter XXIX – Oversight by the
Government
223. Supervision
of local governments.
224. Calling
in question the legality of an order etc. of local government.
225. Right
of certain government officers to attend local government meetings etc.
226. Power
to call for information.
227. Power
of the Government to inquire into complaints.
228. Power
of the Government to suspend certain resolutions or orders and prohibit certain
actions of local government.
229. Power
of the Government to require a local government to take action.
230. Procedure
where head of the local government fails to show cause or to take action on
directions of the Government.
231. Power
of the Government to take action on its own.
232. Power
of the Government to suspend or remove a head of the local government, convenor
or councillor.
233. Suspension
or dissolution of a local government.
234. Effect
of suspension or dissolution of a local government.
235. Reinstatement
of suspended council.
236. Bar
of suits and impact of suspension of resolution etc.
PART 6
COORDINATION AND CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT
Chapter XXX – Punjab Local
Government Commission
237. Establishment
of Punjab Local Government Commission.
238. Chairperson
and members of the Commission.
239. Term
of office and premature removal of certain members.
240. Casual
vacancies.
241. Eligibility
for appointment of expert members.
242. Certain
restrictions to apply on subsequent employment of an expert member.
243. Oath
of office of members of the Commission.
244. Functions
of the Commission and duty of the government to have regards to their reports.
245. Certain
powers of a court to vest upon the Commission.
246. Procedure
of the Commission.
247. Duty
of the Government, local governments etc. to cooperate with the Commission.
248. Secretariat
of the Commission.
Chapter XXXI – Coordination and
Dispute Management
249. Inter-agency
coordination.
250. Resolution
of disputes.
Chapter XXXII – Planning,
Development and Land Use
251. Local
development plan.
252. Initiation
of proposals for new works etc.
253. Approval
of annual development plan.
254. Government
to certify annual development plan if not approved by a local government.
255. Evaluation
and approval of proposals for new works etc.
256. Planning
guidelines.
257. Local
Planning Board.
258. Duty
of every local government to maintain public service infrastructure maps.
259. Land
use planning and land use permissions.
260. Local development and land-use plans to abide
by relevant provincial and regional planning considerations.
PART 7
REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT
Chapter XXXIII – Offences Relating
to Local Government Elections
261. Prohibition
to give, offer or promise illegal gratification.
262. Prohibition
to impersonate as a voter.
263. Prohibition
to unduly influence outcome of election.
264. Prohibition
of certain unwarranted practices.
265. Canvassing
on a polling day prohibited.
266. Disorderly
conduct near polling station.
267. Prohibition
on tampering with ballot paper etc.
268. Interference
with the secrecy of voting prohibited.
269. Duty
to maintain secrecy.
270. Conduct
of officials or any other person employed in connection with election.
271. Breach
of official duty in connection with election.
272. Illegal
assistance to a candidate by government servants.
273. Prohibition
of excessive expenditure on election.
274. Failure
to correctly declare election expenditure.
275. Summary
trial.
276. Cognizance
of offences under this Chapter.
Chapter XXXIV – Municipal Offences
and their Cognizance
277. Municipal
offences.
278. Cognizance
of municipal offences.
279. Proceedings
before the enforcement officer.
280. Certain
powers of a court to vest upon enforcement officer.
281. Appeal
against order of an enforcement officer.
282. Cognizance
of an offence under this Chapter by courts.
283. Appointment
of Inspectors and Enforcement Officers.
284. General
powers of Inspectors and Enforcement Officers.
285. Appointment
of Municipal Magistrates.
286. Right
of citizen not effected.
Chapter XXXV – Offences Relating to
Good Conduct and Conflict of Interest
287. Punishment
for acting dishonestly.– In addition to any punishment
for this act provided for
288. Punishment
for acting despite conflict of interest.– A person who
has a conflict of interest
289. Punishment
for failure to disclose immediate relatives etc.– A head of the local
290. Cognizance
of an offence under this Chapter by courts.– No court
shall take cognizance of
Chapter XXXVI – Offences Relating
to Local Taxes
291. Punishment
for failure to provide information on liability to tax etc.
292. Punishment
for non-payment of tax etc.
293. Cognizance
of offences under this Chapter.
PART 8
MISCELLANEOUS
Chapter XXXVII – Officers and
Servants of Local Governments
294. Chief
Officer, other officers and servants of local governments.
295. Security
of tenure for the Chief Officer and other officers.
296. Local
Government Service.
297. Service
cadre for servants of the local governments.
298. Continuation
of the Punjab Local Government Board.
299. Composition
of the Board.
300. Functions
of the Board and method for conduct of business.
Chapter XXXVIII – General Matters
301. Appeal
against orders of local governments.
302. All
heads of the local governments, convenors, councillors, officer and servants of
the local governments to be public servants.
303. Remuneration
etc. for heads of the local governments, convenors and councillors.
304. Right
to information.
305. Training
of heads of the local governments, convenors and councillors.
306. Manner
of exercise of authority of the government.
307. Delegation
of powers by a local government.
308. Bar
of suits etc. for action taken in good faith.
309. Bar
against employment of head of the local government, convenor and councillors in
the local government.
310. Power
to make rules and bye-laws.
311. Power
to issue regulations and standing instructions.
312. Repeal
and Savings.
313. Amendments
in the Fifteenth Schedule.
314. Removal
of difficulties.
315. Act
to override other laws.
Chapter XXXIX – Transitional
Arrangements
316. Interim
authorities and continuation of public services.
317. Interim
maintenance of offices and authorities to be transferred to local governments
under this Act.
318. Fiscal
transfers and taxes etc. to continue.
319. Fiscal
transfers and budget of the succeeding local governments for the first year in
office.
320. Salaries
and emoluments of officers and servants of the local governments during
transition.
SCHEDULES
First Schedule
Second Schedule
Third Schedule
Fourth Schedule
Fifth Schedule
Sixth Schedule
Seventh Schedule
Eighth Schedule
Ninth Schedule
Tenth Schedule
Eleventh Schedule
Twelfth Schedule
Thirteenth Schedule
Fourteenth Schedule
Fifteenth Schedule
Sixteenth Schedule
[1]THE
PUNJAB LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 2019
(Act XIII of 2019)
[4 May 2019]
An Act to
reconstitute local governments in the Punjab and for related purposes
Whereas it is expedient
to reconstitute local governments in the Punjab for effective discharge of
certain public services and to provide for their authority and duties for this
purpose, and matters connected therewith and ancillary thereto;
Be it enacted by Provincial
Assembly of the Punjab as follows:-
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Chapter I – Applicability
and Interpretation
1. Short title, extent
and commencement.– (1) This Act may be called the
Punjab Local Government Act, 2019.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of the
Punjab other than the areas notified as cantonments under the Cantonments Act,
1924 (II of 1924), or the Cantonments Ordinance, 2002 (CXXXVII of 2002), in
relation to the matters covered there under and such other areas under active
possession and direct control of the Armed Forces of Pakistan that may be notified
by the Government for this purpose.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.– In this Act, unless there is anything
repugnant in the subject or context:-
(a)
‘Act’ means the Punjab Local
Government Act, 2019;
(b)
‘administration’ means the part of
a local government comprising Chief Officer, other officers and servants of the
local government;
(c)
‘Auditor General’ means the Auditor
General of Pakistan appointed under Article 168 of the Constitution;
(d)
‘authorized auditor’ means any
commercial auditor other than the Auditor General authorized by the Government
to undertake extra-ordinary audit of a local government under section 195 of
this Act;
(e)
‘Board’ means the Punjab Local
Government Board continued under section 298 of this Act;
(f)
‘Cabinet’ means the Cabinet of
Ministers, with the Chief Minister as its head as mentioned in Article 130 of
the Constitution;
(g)
‘candidate’ means a candidate for
election under this Act;
(h)
‘cantonment’ means a place or
places declared and notified as cantonment under the Cantonments Act, 1924 (II
of 1924), or the Cantonments Ordinance, 2002 (CXXXVII of 2002) by the
Government of Pakistan;
[2][(i) ‘census’ means a population and housing
census provisionally or finally published under the General Statistics
(Reorganization) Act, 2011 (XIV of 2011), whichever is later;]
(j)
‘Chief Minister’ means the Chief
Minister of the Punjab;
(k)
‘Chief Officer’ means an officer of
the local government who is the head of the respective administration and
includes a Chief Corporation Officer who shall be the head of the
administration of a Metropolitan Corporation;
(l)
‘circumstances of emergency’ mean
circumstances imminently endangering public health, safety, loss of life or
significant or large scale harm to property and
require an immediate action;
(m)
‘Collector’ means a Revenue Officer
appointed under section 7 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 (XVII of 1967);
(n)
‘Commission’ means the Punjab Local
Government Commission constituted under section 237 of this Act;
(o)
‘committee’ means a committee of
the council constituted under section 68 of this Act;
(p)
‘consolidated fund’ means Provincial
Consolidated Fund within the meanings of Article 118 of the Constitution;
(q)
‘constituting local government’
means a local government constituting a joint authority established under
section 30 of this Act;
(r)
‘Constitution’ means the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
(s)
‘Convenor’ means the
convenor of the council and in relation to the holding of a meeting of the
council, shall also include a councillor or any other person presiding over the
meeting in his absence;
[3][(t) * * * * * * * * *
*]
(u)
‘corruption’ by a head of the local
government, convenor, councillor or an officer or servant of a local government
or any other person acting under this Act means:
(i) accepting,
obtaining or offering any gratification or valuable thing, directly or
indirectly, other than the legal remuneration, as a reward for doing or for
bearing to do any official act; or
(ii) dishonestly
or fraudulently misappropriating, or indulging in embezzlement or misuse of
property or resources of a local government; or
(iii) possession of pecuniary sources or property by
himself or any of his dependents or any other person, through him or on his
behalf, which cannot be accounted for and which are disproportionate to his known
sources of income; or
(iv) maintaining
standard of living beyond known sources of income; or
(v) having
a reputation of being corrupt; or
(vi) entering
into plea bargain under any law for the time being in force and return the
assets or gains acquired through corruption or corrupt practices, voluntarily;
(v)
‘Council’ means the council
comprising the convenor and other councillors of a local government;
(w)
‘councillor’ means a councillor of
the council and includes a convenor;
(x)
‘defunct local government’ means a
local government dissolved under section 3 of this Act;
(y)
‘Director Local Fund Audit’ means
the Director of Local Fund Audit Department, Punjab;
(z)
‘district’ means a District
notified under section 5 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 (XVII of 1967);
[4][(za) ‘Elections Act’ means the Elections Act, 2017
(XXXIII of 2017);]
(aa)
‘Election Commission’ means the
Election Commission of Pakistan established under Article 218 of the
Constitution;
[5][(bb) ‘electoral group’ means an electoral group
enlisted under the Act;]
[6][(cc) ‘electoral officer’ means an officer
appointed for election under the Act and includes a Presiding Officer, an
Assistant Presiding Officer and a Polling Officer;]
[7][(dd) ‘electoral roll’ means an electoral roll
prepared, revised or corrected under the Elections Act;]
(ee)
‘electoral unit’ means electoral
unit constituted for an election under section 84 of this Act;
(ff)
‘estimate of receipts and expenditure’
means the estimate of expected receipts and expenditure of a local government
for a given financial year, and as the case may be, shall include the estimate
of receipts and expenditure of constituent offices, entities and agencies of that
local government;
(gg)
‘Finance Commission’ means the Punjab
Local Government Finance Commission constituted under section 174 of this Act;
(hh)
‘financial year’ means the year
commencing on the first day of July and ending on the thirtieth day of June;
[8][(ii) ‘Government’ means Government of the
Punjab;]
[9][(jj) ‘government agency’ means an office or
entity of the Government;]
(kk)
‘head’s cabinet’ means the cabinet
of the head of the local government referred to in section 19 of this Act;
(ll)
‘head of the local government’
means the head of the local government and includes:
(i) a
Lord Mayor of a Metropolitan Corporation;
(ii) a
Mayor of a Municipal Corporation, Municipal Committee or a Town Committee; and
(iii) a
Chairperson of Tehsil Council
(mm)
‘High Court’ means the Lahore High
Court, Lahore;
(nn)
‘Inspector General’ means the
Inspector General of the Inspectorate;
(oo)
‘Inspectorate’ means the
Inspectorate of Local Government constituted under section 207 of this Act;
(pp)
‘joint authority’ means a joint
authority established under section 30 of this Act;
(qq)
‘local area’ means the jurisdiction
of a local government determined under section 8 of this Act;
(rr)
‘Local Council Service’ means the
Local Council Service comprising servants of the local governments constituted
under section 297 of this Act;
(ss)
‘local government’ means a local
government constituted under subsection (2) of section 3 of this Act;
(tt)
‘Metropolitan’ means a local area
of a Metropolitan Corporation;
(uu)
‘Minister’ means the Minister as
defined in the Punjab Government Rules of Business, 2011 or any other similar
law for the time being in force, and where no department has been mentioned
with the Minister, it shall mean the Minister in charge of the Local Government
and Community Development Department;
(vv)
‘Municipality’ means the local area
of a Municipal Corporation or, as the case may be, a Municipal Committee;
(ww) ‘Neighbourhood
Council’ means a neighbourhood council constituted under the Punjab Village
Panchayat and Neighbourhood Councils Act, 2019;
(xx)
‘officer’ in relation to an officer
of a local government shall mean to include a Chief Officer;
(yy)
‘official Gazette’ means the
official Gazette of the Government;
(zz)
‘Operating Officer’ means the
operating officer of a joint authority appointed under section 33 of this Act;
(aaa) ‘Panchayat’
means a Panchayat constituted under the Punjab Village Panchayat and
Neighbourhood Councils Act, 2019;
(bbb) ‘peasant’
means a landless farm worker or a person engaged in subsistence agriculture
from not more than five acres of agricultural land whose annual income does not
exceed such limit as the Government may from time to time determine having
regards to the prevailing poverty line;
(ccc) ‘political
party’ means a political party within the meanings of the Election Act, 2017
(XXXIII of 2017) or any other relevant law for the time being in force;
(ddd) ‘prescribed’
means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(eee) ‘prescribed
service’ means the Local Government Service, Pakistan Administrative Service
constituted under Article 240 of the Constitution and Provincial Management
Service constituted under the Punjab Provincial Management Service Rules, 2004 whether
called by this or any other title;
(fff)
‘province’ means the province of
the Punjab;
(ggg) ‘provincial
allocable amount’ means sums set aside out of the provincial consolidated fund under
section 185 of this Act as a share for transfer to one or more local governments
and panchayats and neighbourhood councils under section 186 of this Act.
(hhh) ‘Provincial
Assembly’ means the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab;
(iii)
‘public service’ means a service
provided by a local government in relation to its functions for the residents;
(jjj)
‘Punjab’ means the province of the
Punjab;
(kkk) ‘recognized
institution’ means an educational institution recognized by the Higher
Education Commission established under the Higher Education Commission
Ordinance, 2002 or any other similar agency mandated for this purpose under any
other relevant law;
(lll)
‘regulations’ means the regulations
issued under section 311 of this Act;
(mmm) ‘resident’
means a person who ordinarily resides in the local area of a local government,
and where relevant as regards the functions of a joint authority, includes
persons from outside that area who regularly use facilities or services
provided by that joint authority.
(nnn) ‘Rules’
means the rules made under this Act;
(ooo) ‘Secretary’
means the Secretary as defined in the Punjab Government Rules of Business, 2011
or any other similar law, and where no department has been mentioned with the
Secretary, it shall mean the Secretary in charge of the Local Government and
Community Development Department;
(ppp) ‘servant
of local government’ means an employee of the local government appointed or
continued under section 297 of this Act;
(qqq) ‘standing
instructions’ mean the standing instructions issued under section 311 of this
Act;
(rrr)
‘sub-committee’ means the sub-committee
of a committee of the council appointed under section 68 of this Act;
(sss)
‘tehsil’ means an area notified as
Tehsil under the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 (XVII of 1967);
(ttt)
‘town’ means the local area of a
Town Committee;
(uuu) ‘urban
local area’ means a Metropolitan, Municipality or a Town; and
(vvv)
‘worker’ means a person who primarily
depends upon personal labour or a small scale business
for subsistence, a worker as defined in the Industrial Relations Ordinance,
2002 (Ordinance XCI of 2002) and in both cases, his annual income does not
exceed such limit as the Government may from time to time determine having
regards to the prevailing poverty line.
[10][2A. Elections Act to apply.– For the
purpose of local government election, the Elections Act shall, as nearly as
possible, apply to an election under this Act.]
Chapter II – Succeeding
Local Governments and their General Responsibility
3. Dissolution of existing
local governments.– (1) All local governments constituted or continued under the Punjab
Local Government Act, 2013 (Act XVIII of 2013) are hereby dissolved.
(2) As soon as may be but not later than [11][twenty one months]
of the commencement of this Act, the
Government shall constitute succeeding local governments in accordance with the
provisions of section 15 of this Act.
4. Succession of the
defunct local governments.– (1) Subject to
subsection (3) below, each local government shall succeed:
(a)
such property of a defunct local
government located within the limits of its local area which, in view of the
Government, is required by it for the due discharge of any function under this
Act;
(b) such
officers and servants of a defunct local government who, in the view of the
Government, are required by it for the discharge of any function under this
Act; and
(c)
such rights, fund, claim or
liability or portion thereof which, in the view of the Government, was
respectively raised, made or accrued by a defunct local government in relation
to areas comprising its local area.
(2)
Subject to subsection (3) below,
the Government shall, having regards to the circumstances appertaining to each
case, determine the share of a local government where:
(a) any
property of a defunct local government is required by two or more local governments
for the discharge of a function under this Act;
(b) any
officer or servant of a defunct local government is required by two or more
local governments for the discharge of a function under this Act; and
(c) any
fund, claim or liability or portion thereof which was respectively raised, made
or accrued by a defunct local government in relation to areas comprising the
local areas of two or more local governments.
(3)
No local government shall, unless
otherwise provided by the Government, succeed to any property, right, fund,
claim or liability or portion thereof of a defunct local government which does
not pertain to a function assigned to it under this Act.
(4)
All properties, rights, funds,
claims and liabilities of a defunct local government which pertain to a
function not assigned to any local government under this Act shall be succeeded
to by the Government.
(5)
The Government shall, by a general
or special order, provide for the manner of succession and discharge of
liabilities, if any, of a defunct local government.
(6)
The Government shall assign all
properties, rights, funds, claims or liabilities among local governments under
this section and all disputes relating to this matter shall be referred to and
decided by it and such decision shall be final.
Explanation: For the purpose of this
section, the term ‘property’ shall include any land, building, office, wok, facility,
amenity, vehicle, equipment, plant, store or apparatus.
5. General
authority and responsibility of a local government.– (1) Subject
to and to the extent given under this Act, every local government shall have
the authority to run the affairs of respective local area without improper
interference.
(2) A local government shall, having regard
to the practical considerations:-
(a)
exercise its
authority and incur expenditure in the best interests of the residents without any
favour or prejudice in a democratic and accountable manner;
(b)
involve all
residents in running its affairs and from time to time consult them on the
level, quality, range and impact of services;
(c)
provide
services in financially and environmentally sustainable manner;
(d)
give
equitable access to services; and
(e)
promote and
undertake development in the respective local area.
(3) Every resident shall have the right to:
(a)
contribute
to the running of the affairs of respective local government in accordance with
this Act;
(b)
receive prompt
response to his written or oral communication, including any complaint, to a local
government;
(c)
be informed
of the decisions of the local government affecting his rights, property and
reasonable expectations;
(d)
regular
disclosure of the state of affairs of the respective local government,
including its finances;
(e)
demand that
affairs of the respective local government are conducted impartially and
without prejudice and are untainted by personal self-interest; and
(f)
use and
enjoyment of facilities and services provided by the local government.
(4) Every resident shall, where applicable,
pay promptly toll, tax, fee, rates or other charges imposed by the local
government, allow officers and servants of the local government reasonable
access to his property in relation to the performance of their duties, and
comply with lawful bye-laws or instruction of the local government applicable
to him.
6. Local governments to
work within the Provincial framework.– (1) Every
local government shall function within the framework of the province and adhere
to all applicable federal and provincial laws.
(2) No local government shall do anything or
act in a manner that impedes or is otherwise prejudicial to the exercise of
executive authority of the Government.
[12][(3) The Government may, by general or special
order, direct a local government to take any measure in furtherance of section
5, and the local government shall comply with such direction.]
7. Certain matters to be
prescribed.– Wherever this Act requires anything
to be done but does not make any provision or sufficient provision as to the
authority by whom it shall be done, or the manner in which it shall be done,
then it shall be done by such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed.
PART 2
CONSTITUTION AND
FUNCTIONING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Chapter III – Local
Areas
8. Demarcation of local areas.– (1) As soon as may be, but not later than six
months of the commencement of this Act, the Government shall by an order
published in the official Gazette:-
(a)
divide all areas comprising the Punjab,
except the areas excluded under sub-section (2) of section 1, into urban and
rural local areas;
(b)
identify the limits of each local
area;
(c) having
regards to the provisions of section 9 of this Act, classify each urban local
area; and
(d) name
each local area.
(2)
All areas comprising a Tehsil,
excluding areas notified as cantonments and urban local areas, shall be the
local area of that Tehsil.
(3)
As far as may be, each local area
shall be compact, contiguous and constitute a territorial unity.
(4)
Each local area shall constitute
territorial jurisdiction of the respective local government.
9. Classification of urban
local areas.– (1) An area which displays distinct urban
features may either be classified as a Metropolitan, Municipality or a Town.
(2) There shall be following nine
Metropolitans in the Punjab, namely:
(a) areas comprising the cities of
Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal
and Sargodha; and
(b) notwithstanding anything
contained in section 8 of this Act and subsection (1) of this section, all
areas comprising
the district of Lahore.
(3) An area referred to in subsection (1),
except the area comprising a city which houses the Tehsil headquarters, shall
not be classified as a Municipality or a Town, unless it has a population of
not less than seventy-five thousand and twenty thousand respectively as per the
last available census.
(4) The area comprising the city which
houses a Tehsil headquarters, unless it qualifies to be classified as a
Municipal Corporation, shall be a Municipal Committee whether or not its
population is less than seventy-five thousand as per the last available census.
10. Change of name of a
local area.– The Government may, on its own, or on
a resolution of the relevant council approved by not less than two-third of its
councillors for the time being in office, change the name of a local area.
11. Periodic review of
local areas.– (1) Every eight years from the
commencement of this Act, the Commission, shall review all local areas in the
Punjab and if required recommend to the Government extension, curtailment or
otherwise alteration of the limits of one or more local areas, or constitution
of new local areas, or amalgamation or abolition of existing local areas, or
reclassification of a local area.
(2) All recommendations of the Commission
under subsection (1) shall be made in the interest of effective and convenient
local government, or to reflect interests of residents, or to accommodate
changes in the demographics or nature of a local area.
12. Power of the Government
to direct special reviews.– Notwithstanding the provisions of section 11 of
this Act, where the Government upon request of the Commission or a resolution
of one or more local governments approved by not less than two-third of their
respective councillors for the time being in office, or otherwise considers that
a special review of all or one or more local areas is necessary, it may, at any
time, direct the Commission to conduct a special review of the indicated local
areas.
13. Procedure for review of
local areas.– (1) For the purpose of conducting a
review under section 11 or 12 of this Act, the Commission shall:-
(a) ensure
that all local governments, government agencies, other authorities and persons
who may be interested in the review are informed of the proposal to conduct it
and of any directions of the Government which are relevant to it;
(b)
consult local governments of the
local area effected by the review as well as all the relevant government
agencies, other authorities and persons;
(c)
ensure that all local governments, government
agencies, other authorities and persons who may be interested in the review are
informed of every draft recommendation, or any interim decision not to make any
recommendation or any other such order and of the place or places where such
recommendation, decision or order can be inspected; and
(d) take
into consideration any representation made to it within the period specified
for this purpose.
(2) The Government may issue general
directions to the Commission for the conduct of review in the aforesaid manner.
14. Changes in the limits and
re-classification of local areas.– (1) On the recommendation of the Commission, the
Government may, through an order published in the official gazette, extend,
curtail or otherwise alter the limits of a local area, constitute one or more new
local areas, amalgamate or abolish any existing local areas, or reclassify a
local area.
(2) No
extension, curtailment or otherwise alteration of the limits of a local area,
constitution of a new local area, or amalgamation or abolishment of an existing
local area, or reclassification of a local area under this section shall be
ordered unless a period of not more than three months remains in the term of the
respective council under section [13][113] of this Act.
[14][(3) The order under subsection (1) shall become
effective from the next election to the local government.]
Explanation: For the purpose of this
section, re-classification of a local area shall mean to include change of the
existing class of an urban local area to another class of urban local area or
re-designation of a rural local area as an urban local area and vice versa.
Chapter IV – Local Governments
15. Constitution of local governments.– (1)
The Government shall, having regards to the provisions of subsection (2) of
section 3 of this Act, constitute local governments of various classes in the
following manner:-
(a) a
Metropolitan Corporation for each Metropolitan;
(b) a
Municipal Corporation for each Municipality with a population of not less than
two hundred and fifty thousand as per the latest census;
(c) a
Municipal Committee for each Municipality with a population of not less than
seventy-five thousand as per the latest census;
(d) a
Town Committee for each Town; and
(e) a
Tehsil Council for each Tehsil in the Punjab.
(2) Every local government
shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal, and,
subject to the provisions of this Act, shall have power to acquire, hold and
transfer property, both movable and immovable, to contract and to do all other
things necessary for the purposes of its constitution; and shall by its name
sue and be sued.
16. Name of a local government.– The Government may, by an order published
in the official Gazette, specify the name by which a local government shall be
known and unless the name of a local government is so specified, it shall be
known as the local government of the respective local area.
Illustration: Pending an order by the
Government, Municipal Committee of a Municipality ‘Z’ shall be known as Municipal
Committee Z.
17. Division, amalgamation or re-classification of local governments.–
(1) The Government may, in accordance with an order under section 14 of this
Act:-
(a) divide
a local government into two or more local governments; or
(b) amalgamate
two or more local governments into one local government; or
(c) re-classify
a local government.
[15][(2) When, as a result of such division,
amalgamation or re-classification, a new local government is constituted or the
limits of a local area are altered under section 14, the Government shall, by
an order, specify the extent to which the new, reconstituted or re-classified
local government shall succeed the local government so divided, amalgamated or
reconstituted.]
(3) No
division, amalgamation, reconstitution or re-classification of a local
government under this section shall be ordered unless a period of not more than
three months remains in the term of the respective council under section [16][113] of this Act.
[17][(4) The order under subsection (1) shall become
effective from the next election to the local government.]
(5) Every order under this section shall be
in writing and published in the official Gazette.
Chapter V – Composition of Local Governments
18. Local government structure.– (1) Every
local government shall consist of:-
(a) a directly
elected head of the local government;
(b) a head’s
cabinet comprising such councillors and professionals as is given at section 19
of this Act;
(c) a council
comprising such number and description of councillors, including the convenor,
as is given at section 20 of this Act to:
(i) keep
under review the performance of duties and exercise of powers by the head of
the local government under this Act;
(ii) investigate
and prepare reports on actions and decisions of the head of the local
government under this Act;
(iii) investigate
and prepare report on any other matter which it considers to be of importance
for the residents;
(iv) submit
a proposal for the purpose of this Act to the head of the local government
where it considers it appropriate; and
(d) an
administration comprising officers and servants of the local government.
(2)
A head of the local government
shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as are mentioned at section
42 of this Act.
(3)
A convenor shall perform such
duties and exercise such power as are mentioned at section 43 of this Act.
(4)
The administration of every local
government shall be headed by a Chief Officer who shall be appointed by the
Government from amongst the officers of the prescribed services.
(5)
The Chief Officer shall perform
such duties and exercise such powers as are mentioned at section 45 of this Act.
19. Composition of the
head’s cabinet.– (1) The head’s cabinet for
various classes of local governments shall comprise such number of councillors
and professionals as mentioned in the First Schedule.
(2) For the purpose of this section, a
professional shall mean a person who has successfully completed sixteen years
of education from a recognized institution and has an experience of not less
than ten years in public administration, public finance, education, public
health, or any other area relating to the functions of the local government.
20. Representation of
councillors in the councils.– (1) Each council shall consist of such
number of general councillors and councillors representing women, religious
minorities and other special interests in a local area as is mentioned in the Second
Schedule, one of whom shall be the convenor.
(2) Nothing
contained in sub-section (1) shall prevent a woman or a person belonging to a
religious minority or other special interest group from being a candidate for
or elected to a general seat.
Chapter VI – Functions of Local Governments
21. Responsibility of local
governments.– (1) For the purposes of this Act:-
(a) A Metropolitan
Corporation, Municipal Corporation and Municipal Committee shall be responsible
for the functions listed in the Third Schedule;
(b)
A Town Committee shall be
responsible for the functions listed in the Fourth Schedule; and
(c)
A Tehsil Council shall be
responsible for the functions listed in the Fifth Schedule.
(2)
Any office, agency or authority established
or maintained by the Government, which at the
commencement of this Act is providing public services or discharging other
duties in relation to the building control, solid waste management, water
supply, and sewerage collection and disposal function in a Metropolitan, shall,
subject to such conditions and control as the Government may impose, stand
transferred to the respective Metropolitan Corporation.
(3)
Every
office, agency and authority referred to in subsection (2) shall be transferred
to the respective Metropolitan Corporation as soon as may be but not later than
six months [18][from
the date of establishment of the Metropolitan Corporation].
(4)
A local government shall undertake
such other functions as are entrusted to it under any other law for the time
being in force.
22. Assignment of
additional responsibilities by Government.– Nothing in section 21 of
this Act shall prevent the Government from assigning any function to a local government
which is not included in the Third, Fourth or Fifth Schedule on such terms and conditions
as may mutually be agreed.
23. Extent of Government control on functions
of the local governments.– (1) Without any prejudice to the
provisions of section 6 of this Act, the Government may, from time to time,
give policy directions and fix objectives for the effective, transparent and
efficient undertaking of functions by a local government.
(2) A local government shall perform
functions listed in Part 1 of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules in such
manner and to such extent as may be directed by the Government.
(3) Having regards to the provision of
subsection (1), the council shall provide for the manner and extent to which
functions listed in Part 2 of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules shall be
performed by the respective local government.
24. Discharge of functions
by local governments.– (1) Subject to subsection (2) below, a local government may discharge
its functions through one or more of the following means, namely:-
(a) an officer
or servant of the local government;
(b) a
joint authority established under sections 30 and 32 of this Act;
(c) another
local government by mutual agreement under section [19][26] of this Act;
(d) an
office, authority or agency owned or operated by the Government by mutual
agreement under section 26 of this Act; and
(e) by
contracting out.
(2) No local government shall contract out
any public service which constitutes or involves the exercise of power to award
administrative or other penalties, interferes with or otherwise affects the
liberty of an individual, involves the power to enter, search or seize any
property, or a power or duty to enforce any law.
25. Delegation of functions
to Panchayats and Neighbourhood Councils.– (1) A local
government may by a mutual agreement, delegate one or more of its functions
listed in Part 2 of the Third, Fourth or, as the case may be, the Fifth Schedule
or one or more public services relating to any such function to a Neighbourhood
Council or a Panchayat.
(2)
In performance of a function or
delivery of a public service delegated under subsection (1), the Neighbourhood
Council or, as the case may be, the Panchayat shall adhere to the general or
specific directions of the local government delegating that function.
26. Agency arrangements.– (1) A
local government may, through a written agreement, make arrangements with any
other local government, or an office, authority or agency of the Government for
any of the following purposes:-
(a)
provision by any party to the
arrangement to the other of any administrative, professional, technical or any
other services related to the functions of that local government;
(b)
the use by one party to the
arrangement of any facility, amenity, vehicle, plant, stores or apparatus
belonging to the other and placement of the services of any person employed in
connection with any facility, amenity, vehicle, plant, stores or apparatus in
question;
(c)
the provision or maintenance by one
party to the arrangement of any works, facility, amenity, vehicle, plant, store
or apparatus for the provision or maintenance of which the other is
responsible.
(2)
An office, authority or agency of
the Government shall not make arrangements under subsection (1) without prior
permission of the Government.
(3)
The expenses incurred
by a local government, joint authority or government agency for carrying into effect
the agreement under subsection (1) shall be defrayed by the local government
for whom services are provided by that local government, joint authority or
government agency.
(4)
In case of a
disagreement on the amount of expenses or the actual value of expenses paid by
a local government during a particular period, the expenses shall be paid by
the local government in such amount and in such manner as may be determined by
the Commission.
(5)
Every local government
and the office, authority or agency of the Government acting under this section
shall keep separate accounts for the purposes of subsection (3) in the
prescribed manner.
27. Appointment of an undertaker
by Government.– (1) In the
interest of economy of effort and effectiveness, the Government may appoint any
of its office, authority or agency to undertake one or more functions listed at
Part I of the Third, Fourth or Fifth Schedule or one or more public services
related to any such function in one or more local areas in the Punjab.
(2) The function or public service referred
to in subsection (1) shall not be undertaken by a local government in respect
of the local areas referred to in this subsection.
(3) All expenses required for the
undertaking of a function or public service referred to in subsection (1) shall
be defrayed by the Government.
(4) The office, authority or agency referred
to in subsection (1) shall, for the purpose of undertaking a function or
provision of a public service, be deemed to be a local government within the
meaning of this Act.
28. Delegation of functions
etc. and agency arrangements not to
diminish responsibility of a local government.– Arrangements made
under clause (b), (c), (d) and (e) of section 24 of this Act, or delegation of
any function under section 25 of this Act and agency arrangements under section
26 of this Act shall not diminish, in any respect, the responsibility of a
local government with regards to the function or public service which it
outsources, contracts out or delegates to another local government, joint
authority, government agency, Panchayat or, as the case may be, a Neighbourhood
Council.
29. Quality and accessibility of public services.– (1) The quality of a
public service provided by a local government in relation to the functions
assigned to it under this Act shall be as under:-
(a) where
standard of provision of a public service is regulated [20][by law], the standard
of provision of that public service shall be deemed to be the standard laid
down by such law;
(b)
where standard of provision of a
public service is not regulated [21][by law], the Government
may, by an order, fix the standard of provision of that public service;
(c)
where standard of provision of a
public service is neither regulated [22][by law] nor fixed by the
Government, the standard of provision of that public service shall be deemed to
be the standard fixed by a professional body concerned with that service; and
(d)
where standard of provision of a
public service is neither regulated [23][by law], or fixed by
the Government or by a concerned professional body, the standard of provision
of that public service shall be that which at the time of provision of the
public service could be reasonably expected to be obtained in the respective
local area.
(2)
All public services provided by a
local government shall meet the quality standards fixed or expected under this
section.
(3)
Each public service provided by a
local government shall be accessible to all such persons for whom that service
is intended.
Chapter VII – Joint Authorities
30. Establishment of joint authorities by voluntary action.– (1) Subject to the limitations
mentioned at section 32 of this Act, the heads of two or more local governments
may, through a written agreement, establish a joint authority for the provision
of one or more of such public services which relate to a function assigned to
them under this Act.
(2)
An agreement referred to in
subsection (1) shall, among other things, provide for:-
(a)
the extent of responsibility of the
joint authority in relation to the provision of a public service;
(b)
the manner in which the joint
authority will discharge its responsibility;
(c)
personnel, facility, amenity,
equipment, plant, stores or apparatus required for effective working of the
joint authority; and
(d)
arrangements for sharing the
expenses of joint authority between constituting local governments.
(3)
A joint authority shall be
responsible to each constituting local governments for
the provision of public services assigned to it.
(4)
The head of the local government of
a constituting local government of a joint authority established under this
section may, after due notice of not less than three months to the other
constituting local governments, rescind from the agreement referred to in
subsection (1).
31. Subsequent joining of a local government.– A local government may join a joint authority through a written agreement [24][between the head of the
local government and the heads of the other local
governments then constituting the joint authority].
32. Power of the Government to establish joint authority in
relation to certain functions.– (1) In the interest of economy of effort and
effectiveness, the Government may by an order, establish a joint
authority for such local governments as may be mentioned in that order, for the
provision of one or more of such public services which relate to their
functions listed in Part 1 of the Third, Fourth or, as the case may be, the Fifth
Schedule.
(2)
Every order under subsection (1)
shall, among other things, provide for:-
(a)
the areas comprising the
jurisdiction of the joint authority;
(b)
public services to be provided by
the joint authority;
(c)
the manner in which the joint
authority will discharge its responsibilities;
(d)
personnel, facility, amenity,
equipment, plant, stores or apparatus required for effective working of the
joint authority; and
(e)
arrangements for sharing of expenses
of the joint authority by the constituting local governments.
(3)
A public service referred to in subsection
(1) shall be provided by the joint authority in the respective local area and
not the constituting local governments.
(4)
No local government shall establish
a joint authority under section 30 of this Act for the provision of any public
service for which a joint authority has been established by the Government
under this section.
(5)
A joint authority established under
this section shall continue unless otherwise ordered by the Government.
33. Operating Officer of a joint authority.– (1) Each joint authority shall have an Operating Officer
who shall be responsible for proper administration and discharge of
responsibilities assigned to that joint authority.
(2) The Operating Officer of a joint
authority established under section 30 of this Act shall be appointed by the
constituting local governments from amongst their officers with mutual
agreement and in case where no such agreement is reached within thirty days of
the establishment of the joint authority, by the Government.
(3) The Government shall appoint Operating
Officer of a joint authority established under section 32 of this Act.
34. Joint committees to oversee and
direct functions of joint authorities.– (1) The constituting local governments may appoint a joint
committee to oversee and direct the proper discharge of functions by a joint
authority established under section 30 of this Act and may also by mutual
agreement determine:-
(a)
the total membership of
the joint committee;
(b)
representation of each
constituent local government in the joint committee; and
(c)
the term of office of
the members of that joint committee.
(2) Representation of constituent local governments
in a joint committee shall be worked out in the following manner:
(a)
the representation of each constituting local government shall not be
less than one member; and
(b) additional representation of a constituting
local government in a joint committee shall be, as nearly as possible,
proportional to its share in meeting the expenses of the joint authority.
(3) The membership of a joint authority
established under section 32 of this Act shall be decided by the Government and
may in addition to the representatives of the constituting local governments
also include such officers or description of officers and other nominees of the
Government as may be mentioned in the order referred to in the said section provided
that the total number of officers and other nominees of the Government shall
not exceed the accumulative strength of representatives of the constituting
local governments in that joint authority.
(4) The head of the local government of the constituting local
government may appoint members of the joint committee from amongst the head’s
cabinet, councillors or officers of the local government.
(5) A member of the joint committee, other than the officer and
other nominee of the Government referred to in subsection (3), shall hold
office during the pleasure of the head of the local government of the respective
constituting local government.
(6) A member of the joint committee shall upon ceasing to be the member
of head’s cabinet, councillor, or as the case may be, the officer of that local
government shall also cease to be a member of the joint committee.
35. Expenses of a joint authority how
defrayed.– (1)
The expenses incurred by a joint authority shall be defrayed in the following
manner:-
(a)
in case of a joint
authority established under section 30 of this Act, by the constituting local
governments in such proportions as agreed by them;
(b)
in case of a joint
authority established under section 32 of this Act, by the constituting local
governments in such proportions as ordered by the Government.
(2) In case
of a disagreement on proportions in which the expense are to be shared or the
actual value of share paid by a constituting local government during a
particular period, the expenses shall be paid by each constituting local
government in such amount and in such manner as may be determined by an
arbitrator appointed with the agreement of the disputing local governments and where
the disputing local governments fail to agree to an arbitrator within thirty
days of the arising of the dispute, by an officer authorized by the Government.
(3) Every joint authority shall keep its
accounts in the prescribed manner.
36. Assets etc. of a joint authority.–
(1) In relation to the working of a joint authority, the
constituting local governments may make arrangements for:
(a)
temporary transfer of officers and
staff to the joint authority;
(b)
use of any facility, amenity,
vehicle, equipment, plant, stores or apparatus of a constituent local
government by the joint authority in relation to provision of a public service
and placement of the services of any person employed in connection with the
facility, amenity, equipment, plant, store or apparatus in question with the
joint authority; and
(c)
purchase of any facility, amenity,
vehicle, equipment, plant, stores or apparatus or employment of any person in
relation to the working of the joint authority.
(2)
A constituting local government
which provides funds for the purchase of any facility, amenity, equipment,
plant, store or apparatus of a joint authority shall be the joint owner of such
facility, equipment, plant, store or apparatus to the extent determined by
subsection (3).
(3)
The share of a constituting local
government in a facility, amenity, equipment, plant, stores or apparatus owned
or used by a joint authority shall be proportionate to the capital cost of that
facility, equipment, plant, stores or apparatus property shared by that local
government.
37. Dissolution of a joint authority.–
(1) A joint authority
established under section 30 of this Act shall stand dissolved if:
(a)
all
constituting local governments of that joint authority, after due notice, agree
to such dissolution;
(b)
as a result of rescission of a
constituting local government of that joint authority under subsection (4) of
section 30 of this Act, the number of remaining constituting governments becomes
less than two; or
(c)
the Government orders as such after
being satisfied that the performance of the joint authority has remained
unsatisfactory consistently or the joint authority has become economically
unviable or the constituting local governments are consistently defaulting in
defraying their respective share of expenses to the joint authority.
(2)
A joint authority established under
section 32 of this Act shall not dissolve unless ordered as such by the
Government.
(3)
Subsequent
to the dissolution of a joint authority, the public services provided by that
joint authority shall be provided by the respective local governments.
38. Succession of a joint authority.– (1) Upon dissolution of a joint
authority:-
(a)
all facilities, amenities,
vehicles, equipment, plants, stores and apparatus purchased by the joint
authority shall be succeeded by each constituting local government, as nearly
as possible, proportional to the expenses of the joint authority shared by it
during the entire period of its continuation;
(b)
all facilities, amenities,
vehicles, equipment, plants, stores and apparatus lent to the joint authority
by a constituting local government shall return to that local government;
(c)
all officers and staff transferred
or lent to the joint authority by a constituting local government shall return
to that local government;
(d)
left over funds, if any, of the
joint authority shall be succeeded by each constituting local government in
such amounts which are, as nearly as possible,
proportional to the expenses of the joint authority shared by it during the
entire period of its continuation.
(2) Any
disagreement amongst the constituting local governments on the issue of
succession of a joint authority shall be determined by an arbitrator appointed
with the agreement of the disputing local governments and where the disputing
local governments fail to agree to an arbitrator within thirty days of the
dissolution, by an officer authorized by the Government.
Chapter VIII – Authority of Local Governments
39. Extent of authority of
local governments.– (1) The authority of every
local government shall be limited to the discharge of functions assigned to it
under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
(2) Subject to the provisions of section 23
of this Act, the authority of a local government shall extend to the doing of
all acts that are necessary for the due discharge of its functions or acts that
are likely to facilitate or are conducive or incidental to the discharge of its
functions under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
40. Manner of exercise of authority
by a local government.– (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the executive authority of
a local government shall vest in and be exercised by its head through officers of
the local government authorized by him in accordance with this Act.
(2)
The head of the local government,
council or any of its committee or sub-committee may direct, guide or supervise
but not directly engage in the discharge of a function of the local government.
(3)
The council and its committees and
sub-committees shall act through resolutions in accordance with the provisions
of section 55 of this Act.
41. All acts and orders to be taken or made in the name of
local government.– All acts and orders of a local government
shall be expressed to be taken or made in its name and shall be authenticated
in the prescribed manner.
Chapter IX – Duties of Certain
Functionaries
42. Duties and powers of a head of the local government.– (1) In addition to any
other duty assigned to him under this Act or any other law for the time being
in force, a head of the local government shall be responsible for:-
(a) ensuring
that the business of the local government is carried out strictly in accordance
with this Act and all other relevant laws for the time being in force;
(b) efficient,
effective and transparent functioning of the local government;
(c) accomplishment
of operational, developmental and fiscal objectives set out by the council or
as the case may be the Government under section 23 of this Act;
(d) presenting
not less than two reports on the performance of local government to the council
and the Government during each financial year;
(e) representation
of the local government at civic or ceremonial functions;
(f)
any other duty, not being the duty
assigned to any other authority under this Act, as the council may, by a
general or special resolution direct;
(g) any
other duty as may be assigned to him by the Government; and
(h) general
supervision and control over officers of the local government for the above
purposes.
(2) A head of the local government shall, in
relation to the above duties or for the transaction of business of the local government,
exercise:-
(a) such powers as are
conferred upon him under this Act or any other law for the time being in force;
and
(b) such powers of the
local government, not being the powers of the council or the powers assigned to
any officer or authority under this Act, as are delegated upon him by the council
through a resolution.
(3) Subject to other provisions of this Act,
a head of the local government shall, during the performance of his duties or
exercise of his powers, observe the general policy or directions of the Government.
(4) At the end of each calendar year or at
such other appointed interval, the head of the local government shall evaluate
the work done and results obtained by the Chief Officer as against his duties
and the manner in which he exercised his powers under this Act and submit a
report to the Secretary in the prescribed manner.
(5) Notwithstanding him being not a councillor,
a head of the local government shall have the same right to be present at any
meeting of the council, or the meeting or any of its committee or sub-committee
and of taking part in the discussion thereat, or to make an address, or any
statement or explanation of facts as if he were a councillor or a member of
such committee or, as the case may be, the sub-committee, but he shall not vote
upon any proposition at such meeting.
43. Duties and powers of a convenor.– (1) In addition to any other duty
assigned to him under this Act, a convenor shall:
(a)
convene
meetings of the council as required under this Act;
(b)
preside over,
and ensure orderly conduct of meetings of the council at which he is present;
(c)
maintain
record of meetings of the council; and
(d)
constitute
committees of the council under this Act and oversee their working.
(2)
A convenor shall, in relation to the
above duties, exercise such powers as are conferred upon him under this Act or
any other law for the time being in force.
(3)
Without prejudice to the provisions
of subsection (2), a convenor may, in relation to above duties, direct a
councillor to abstain from or withdraw immediately from a meeting where in his
opinion the attendance of meeting by that councillor would constitute conflict
of interest under section 216 of this Act or the conduct of that councillor during the meeting is grossly disorderly.
44. Duties of a councillor.– (1). While acting under this Act, a councillor shall:
(a) serve the overall interest of the local area which he
represents; and
(b) ensure that there is no conflict, or possible
conflict between his private interest and honest performance of his role of
serving public interest.
(2) A councillor shall not direct or attempt
to direct an officer or servant of a local government, or direct or attempt to
direct on the manner in which the duties of an officer or servant of the local
government shall be performed.
45. Duties and powers of Chief Officer.–
(1) A Chief Officer shall be the principal officer of the local government and
all other officers and servants of that local government shall be subordinate
to him.
(2) In addition to any other duty assigned
to him under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, a
Chief Officer shall:-
(a) work
as the principal accounting officer of the local government;
(b) assist
and advise the head of the local government, convenor, committees and
sub-committees of the council in proper discharge of their duties under this
Act;
(c) ensure
timely, effective and efficient implementation of local government policy and
decisions;
(d) supervise
and control officers and servants of the local government and coordinate and
synergize the work of all offices of the local government;
(e) maintain
financial and administrative discipline and ensure that the business of the
local government is carried out strictly in accordance with the provisions of
this Act and other laws for the time being in force;
(f) enter
into and manage all contracts on behalf of the local government;
(g) undertake
all procurements on behalf of the local government;
(h) maintain
records pertaining to the functions of the local government;
(i) act
for and on the behalf of the local government in every action or other legal
proceedings whether instituted by or against the local government;
(j) assist
relevant authorities in the circumstances of emergency; and
(k) perform
such other duties as are assigned to him by the Government, head of the local
government, council or a committee or sub-committee of the council.
(3) A
Chief Officer shall, in relation to the above duties, exercise:-
(a) such powers as are
conferred upon him under this Act or any other law for the time being in force;
(b) such powers of the
local government as are delegated upon him by the council through a resolution;
and
(c) such powers of the head
of the local government as are delegated upon him by the head of the local
government.
(4) Subject
to other provisions of this Act, the Chief Officer shall, during the
performance of his duties or exercise of his powers, observe the general policy
and any specific direction of the Government.
46. Attendance of council meetings etc. by Chief Officer.– (1) The Chief Officer shall have the
same right to being present at any meeting at the council, or a committee or a sub-committee
of the council and of taking part in the discussions thereat as if he were a councillor
or a member of such committee or, as the case may be, the sub-committee, and
may at any time make a statement or explanation of facts, but he shall not vote
upon, or move, any proposition at such meeting.
(2) In so far as it is not inconsistent with
or does not interfere with the due discharge of his duties, a Chief Officer
shall, when required upon by the convenor attend a meeting of the council or a
committee or sub-committee of the council and render such advice or provide
such assistance as may reasonably be required of him.
47. Duty of Chief Officer etc. in case of an illegal order or
instruction.– (1) Where in
the opinion of the Chief Officer or any other officer or servant of the local
government, any resolution of the council or any of its committees or
sub-committee, or any decision, order, instruction or act of the head of the
local government, convenor, or a councillor is not in accordance with this Act
or any other law for the time being in force, or is motivated, or is likely to lead
to wasteful or improper expenditure, or is likely to lead to the breach of
peace or cause injury or annoyance to the public or any class or body of
persons or is otherwise prejudicial to the public interest, he shall:
(a)
in case
of him being the Chief Officer, refer every such resolution, decision, order,
instruction or act in writing, along with the grounds of his opinion, to the
Government for decision;
(b)
in case
of him being any other officer, send every such resolution, decision, order,
instruction or act in writing, along with the grounds of his opinion, to the
Chief Officer who shall, after recording his own opinion in the matter, forward
the same to the Government.
(2) The Government shall, after due notice
and inquiry, decide every reference of the Chief Officer received under this
section and such decision shall be final as regards to the validity of the
resolution, decision, order, instruction or act.
48. Personal responsibility for acts done and expenditure
incurred without lawful authority.– Every person exercising any authority
for the purposes of this Act, shall be personally responsible for any act done
by him personally or done under his direction; any loss, financial or
otherwise, suffered by a local government due to a decision made by him
personally or under his direction; or any expenditure incurred by him
personally or incurred under his direction without lawful authority or in
violation of any provision of this Act or any other law for the time being in
force.
Chapter X – Contracts
49. Principles governing contracts.– (1) Without prejudice to the
provisions of any other law for the time being in force governing contracts and
public procurements, all contracts for the carrying out of a work, or the
purchase of goods or services of any description, shall be made by a local government
having regards to the following principles, namely:-
(a) open and effective competition;
(b)
value for
money; and
(c) ethical behaviour and fair dealing.
(2) All contracts shall be made, varied or
discharged by a local government in the prescribed manner.
50. Form of contract.– All contracts made, varied or discharged on
behalf of a local government shall be in writing and expressed to be made in
the name of that local government.
51. Power to make contract.– (1) Subject to the provisions of this
Act, all contracts shall be made, varied or discharged on behalf of a local government
by its Chief Officer.
(2) The
Government may, by an order specify that contracts for carrying out of a work
or the purchase of goods or services of a particular nature or exceeding a
particular pecuniary value shall not be made, varied or discharged by the Chief
Officer without the prior approval of the council.
(3) The
Government may likewise, by an order specify that contracts for carrying out of
a work or the purchase of goods or services of a particular nature or exceeding
a particular pecuniary value shall not be made, varied or discharged without
prior approval of the council and confirmation of such approval by an officer
authorized by the Government.
(4) All
contracts made by the Chief Officer on his own authority shall be reported to
the head of the local government immediately and the council at the meeting
next following the making of the contract.
52. Validity
of a contract.– (1) No contract executed otherwise than in conformity with the
provisions of this chapter shall be binding on the local government.
(2) No contract made by a
local government for the provision of a service shall be valid unless it is in
conformity with the limitation prescribed under subsection (2) of section 24 of
this Act.
Chapter XI – Meetings
of the Council
53. Disposal
of business of a local government.– All business of a local government shall, to
the extent provided under this Act, be disposed of at the meetings of its
council, or by the head of the local government, or by the officers of the
local government in the prescribed manner.
54. Business
of the council to be disposed of at meetings.– Every matter required by any provision of
this Act or the rules or bye-laws to be decided by the council or its committee
or sub-committee shall be decided at a meeting of the council, committee or, as
the case may be, sub-committee, held in the prescribed manner.
55. Decisions
at the meetings how made.– (1) Save as otherwise provided under this Act, all matters
or questions which come before the council, a committee or a sub-committee shall
be decided by a simple majority of votes of the councillors or, as the case may
be, the members present at the meeting and voting.
(2) The convenor shall not vote on any
matter or question pending decision before the council except in case of
equality of votes.
(3) In the like manner, a councillor
presiding over a meeting of the committee or sub-committee of the council shall
not vote on any matter or question pending decision before it except in case of
equality of votes.
56. Ordinary, special and emergency meetings.– (1) Every matter required by any provision of
this Act or the rules or bye-law to be decided by the council shall be
transacted at an ordinary meeting unless required by this Act or the rules or
bye-law to be transacted at a special meeting.
(2) Any matter to be decided by the council
in relation to the circumstances of emergency may be transacted at an emergency
meeting.
57. Presiding
over of council meetings.– (1). All meetings of a council,
shall ordinarily be presided over by the convenor.
(2). Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsection (1), first meetings of the council shall be presided over by the convenor
of the council immediately preceding that council and in case there was no council
immediately preceding that council, by an officer to be authorized in this
behalf by the Government.
58. Quorum
of council meetings.– (1) Unless otherwise provided under this Act, or the rules, the
quorum necessary for transaction of business at an ordinary or special meeting
of the council shall be one-half of the councillors holding office at the time.
(2) The quorum necessary for transaction of
business at an emergency meeting shall be one-third of the councillors holding
office at that time.
(3) If at any ordinary, special or emergency
meeting of a council, the number of councillors present does not constitute a
quorum, the convenor shall adjourn the meeting to such other day as he may
think fit, and the business which would have been brought before the original
meeting, if there had been a quorum present, shall be brought before and
transacted at the adjourned meeting in the usual manner.
(4) If at any of the subsequent meeting
called under subsection (2) the number of councillors present is again
insufficient to constitute a quorum, the convenor shall adjourn the meeting to
such other day as he may think fit, and the business which would have been
brought before the original meeting, if there had been a quorum present, shall
be brought before and transacted at this meeting whether there be a quorum
present thereat or not.
59. Frequency
of council meetings.– Every council shall meet at
least once in every calendar month and shall be in session for at least fifty
accumulated days in a calendar year.
60. Councillors, members and certain other
persons to abstain from meetings on account of personal interest.– (1) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Act, a convenor shall not preside over or take
part, in any manner, in the consideration or discussion, or to vote on any
question with respect to a matter which is to be discussed, considered or
decided by the council if he has an interest in that matter as defined in
section 216 of this Act.
(2) In the like manner, a councillor shall not take part, in any
manner, in the consideration or discussion, or to vote on any question with
respect to a matter which is to be discussed, considered or decided by the
council, a committee or sub-committee of whom he is a member if he has an
interest in that matter as defined in section 216 of this Act.
(3) A person not being a
councillor, who is otherwise authorized to participate in a meeting of the
council or is a member of a committee or sub-committee under this Act, shall
not take part, in any manner,
in the consideration or discussion, with respect to a matter which is to be
discussed, considered or decided by the council or a committee or sub-committee
of whom he is a member if he has an interest in that matter as defined in
section 216 of this Act.
61. Vacancy
or defect in membership not to effect power of a council to act.–
(1) A council shall
have the power to act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.
(2) No proceedings of a council shall be
invalid merely by the reason that a person who was, for the time being, not
entitled to do so, sat and voted or otherwise took part in its proceedings.
62. Right
of public to attend council and committee meetings.– (1)
Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) below, every meeting of
the council, committee and sub-committee shall be open to the public.
(2) The convenor presiding over a meeting
referred to in subsection (1), may exclude public from whole or part of the
proceedings of a meeting if majority of the councillors present there at
consider that public information of the proceedings of the meeting shall be
prejudicial to public interest by reason of confidential nature of business to
be transacted at the meeting.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect
or derogate the power of the convenor to exclude a person from the meeting for
the purpose of suppressing or preventing disorderly conduct or other
misbehaviour at, or disturbance of, the meeting.
63. Preservation of order at council meetings.– (1) The convenor shall be responsible for orderly conduct of the
meeting of the council and for this purpose may direct a councillor or a person
witnessing the meeting whose conduct, in his opinion, is grossly disorderly to
withdraw immediately from the meeting.
(2) The councillor or person ordered to
withdraw from a meeting under subsection (1) above shall withdraw from the
meeting forthwith and shall also absent himself during the remainder of day’s
proceedings.
(3) If a councillor is ordered to withdraw from
two meetings consecutively, the convenor may while making such order also
suspend the councillor from attending the meetings for any period not exceeding
thirty days and the councillor shall absent himself from the meetings
accordingly.
(4) Where the councillor referred to in
subsection (1) tenders an apology to his satisfaction, the convenor may remit
the period of suspension of the councillor.
(5) If the councillor or the person ordered
to withdraw from the meeting under subsection (1) above, unlawfully remains in
the meeting, the convenor may take such steps as he deems fit to cause him to
be removed.
64. Record
of proceedings of meetings.– (1) The names of councillors
present and minutes of the proceedings at each meeting of the council shall be
drawn up and recorded in the prescribed manner in a book to be kept for the
purpose.
(2) The minutes of a meeting recorded under
subsection (1) shall be signed by the convenor and shall at all reasonable time
and without charge be open to inspection by all councillors and the public.
(3) No councillor shall be entitled to
object to the minutes of a meeting in which he was not present.
(4) The minutes of a meeting to which public
is excluded under subsection (2) of section 62 of this Act shall not be open to
inspection by public unless otherwise ordered by the Government or the respective
council.
65. Indemnity of councillors in relation to anything said in
proceedings of a meeting.– (1) No head of the local government, convenor,
councillor or other person shall be liable to any proceedings in any Court in
respect of anything said by him or any vote cast by him in the meeting of a council,
committee or sub-committee so long as such action does not:
(a)
undermine the ideology, integrity
or solidarity of Pakistan; or
(b)
seek to create or excite feelings
of enmity, ill will, or hatred between different communities, sects, classes or
sections of citizens of Pakistan; or
(c)
contains any indecent, obscene,
scurrilous or ironical expressions or remarks to defame any person.
(2) A head of the local government, convenor
or councillor who acts in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) may,
without prejudice to any other action against him, be disqualified and removed
from his office by the Government after due notice and inquiry in the
prescribed manner.
66. Defraying
of expenses in relation to meetings.– A local
government may, in the prescribed manner, make payments to defray any expenditure
reasonably incurred by its head of the local government, convenor, councillor
or officer, or any other member of its committee or sub-committee in respect of
attendance of a meeting of the council, committee or, as the case may be, a sub-committee.
67. Bye-laws
for meetings.– (1). Having regards to the provisions of this Act and the
rules, every local government shall, within three months of the assumption of
office, frame bye-laws for the conduct of its meetings.
(2).
Where a local government fails to timely meet the
requirements of subsection (1), the Government may prescribe bye-laws for that
local government which shall be valid as if framed by that local government.
Chapter XII – Committees and
Sub-committees of the Council
68. Appointment
of committees and sub-committees.– (1) A council may appoint a
committee for any general or special purpose and may also delegate to such
committee, with or without restrictions or conditions, any of its business
except the power with respect to approval of receipts and expenditure, rates
and taxes, bye-laws, or the powers with respect to acquiring, holding or
disposing of local government properties.
(2) Without
any prejudice to the provisions of subsection (1), every council shall
constitute the following committees:–
(a)
A committee to oversee
financial matters of the local government including its receipts and
expenditure;
(b)
A committee to oversee the
formulation and delivery of local development plan and annual development
plans;
(c)
A committee to oversee maintenance
of accounts and conduct of audits and implementation of the recommendations of
the audit reports; and
(d)
A committee to oversee
provision of infrastructure and public services in the local area.
(3) A committee appointed under this section
may, subject to any direction of the council, appoint a sub-committee, and may
delegate to such sub-committee with or without restrictions any business
delegated to the committee by the council under subsection (1).
69. Membership
of a committee or a sub-committee.– (1) The number of members of a committee and
their respective term of office shall be such as may be determined by the council.
(2) Subject to any restrictions imposed by the
council, the number of members of a sub-committee and their respective term of
office shall be such as may be determined by the committee constituting it.
(3) While constituting a committee or a sub-committee,
the council or, as the case may be, the committee may appoint a person as member
of the committee or sub-committee who is not a councillor.
(4) A person, not being a person in the
service of Pakistan or in the service of a local government, shall not be
appointed as a member of a committee or sub-committee unless he is otherwise
qualified for being elected as a member of a council under this Act.
70. Requirement
of political balancing in the committees.– (1) Every political party and electoral
group represented in the council shall be represented in every committee of
that council in such a manner that:
(a)
the number of seats allocated to a political party or electoral
group in a committee shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to
the number of total seats in that committee as to the number of councillors of
that political party or electoral group in the council to the total number of councillors
of that council; and
(b)
the number of total seats allocated to a political
party or electoral group in all the committees shall bear, as nearly as may be,
the same proportion as to the number of total seats in all the committees as to
the number of councillors of that political party or electoral group in the
council to the total number of councillors of that council.
(2) If, in calculating a ratio for the
purposes of sub-section (1), the number of seats reserved for a political party
or electoral group does not come to be a whole number and such number is less
than one-half, the number shall be rounded down to the next lower number; or
one-half or more, the number shall be rounded up to the next higher level.
71. Cessation
of a committee or sub-committee.– (1) A council
which appoints a committee or a committee which appoints a sub-committee, may,
at any time, revoke any such appointment and may also revoke or vary anything
delegated, or any restrictions or conditions imposed or any matter fixed under
section 68 of this Act.
(2) A council shall have a similar power
with respect to revocation of appointment or revoking or varying anything
delegated, or any restriction or conditions imposed or any matter fixed in
relation to a sub-committee as that of a committee.
72. Cessation of membership of a committee or
sub-committee on loss of membership of council.– Every member of a committee or sub-committee who was, at the
time of his appointment, a councillor shall, upon ceasing to be such councillor,
also cease to be a member of the committee or sub-committee.
73. Exemption
from personal liability of a member who is not a member of local government.– A member of a committee or sub-committee
who is not a councillor shall have the same exemption from personal liability
as if he were a councillor.
74. Bye-laws for committees
and sub-committees.–
(1) Having regards to the provisions of this Act and the rules, every local government
shall, within three months of the assumption of office, frame bye-laws for the
constitution and conduct of its committees and sub-committees.
(2) Where a local government fails to timely
meet the requirements of subsection (1), the Government may prescribe bye-laws
for that local government which shall be valid as if framed by that local
government.
75. Certain provisions of Chapter XI to apply
to committees and sub-committees.– The provisions of sections 58, 61, 62, 63 and
64 of this Act relating to the meeting of the council shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the meetings
of the committees and sub-committees.
PART 3
ELECTIONS, TERM OF OFFICES AND
RELATED MATTERS
Chapter XIII – Authority for Local
Government Elections
76. Election
Commission to conduct local government elections.– (1) All elections under this Act shall be
conducted by the Election Commission.
(2) The Election Commission shall undertake
such measures and make such arrangements as are necessary for the conduct of
elections in accordance with the law and in a just, fair and transparent
manner.
[25][(3) The
Election Commission shall keep in safe custody the record of an election
including the votes secured by a political party or an electoral group for a
period specified in the Elections Act.]
[26][77. Submission of complaints.– (1) During the process of
election, a person may submit a complaint to the Election Commission, District
Returning Officer or Returning Officer other than an election dispute.
(2) The Election Commission, District
Returning Officer or Returning Officer may process and decide a complaint under
subsection (1) in accordance with the Elections Act.]
78. Election
Commission to report on elections and certain other matters.–
(1) The Election Commission
shall, soon after the completion of every election under this Act, prepare and
publish, in such manner as it may consider appropriate, a report on the
administration and results of the election.
(2) The Election Commission shall keep under
review, and from time to time submit reports to the Government on such matters
which it considers important in relation to elections under this Act.
79. General
powers of the Election Commission.– Without prejudice to any other specific power
vested in it under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, the
Election Commission shall have the power to issue such directions or orders
including the powers to review an order passed under this Act and to make such
consequential order as may be necessary for the performance of its duties under
this Act.
80. All
authorities and persons to assist the Election Commission.–
(1) The Election Commission may require any person or authority in the
Punjab to perform such function or render such assistance as may be required
for the purposes of this Act.
(2) It shall be the duty of all persons and
authorities required to perform a function or render any assistance under
subsection (1) to perform such function or render such assistance, in as much
as may be reasonably possible.
(3) The Government shall make available to
the Election Commission the services of such of its officers and servants as
the Election Commission may require for the purposes of this Act.
Explanation: For the purpose of this section, any reference to
authority shall include an authority which is not owned or controlled by the
Government.
[27][81. Delegation of powers.– The Election Commission may delegate any of its
functions or powers in accordance with the Elections Act.]
82. Election
Commission to regulate its own procedure.– The Election Commission shall, subject to
this Act and the rules, regulate its own procedure.
Chapter XIV – Election Method, Franchise
and Related Matters
83. Election
method in general.– (1) Subject to
the provisions of subsection (12) and (13), an election under this Act shall be
held on the basis of adult franchise through secret ballot in the prescribed
manner and involve:
(a)
the return of the head of
the local government;
(b)
the return of the councillors.
(2) The head of the local
government shall be elected on the basis of simple majority in terms of section
97 of this Act.
(3) The councillors shall be
elected on closed list proportional representation basis in terms of section 97
of this Act.
(4) The head of the
local government and all councillors, except the councillors to the seats
reserved for religious minorities, shall be elected by all eligible voters of
the respective electoral unit.
(5) The councillors to the
seats reserved for religious minorities shall be elected by eligible voters
belonging to all religious minorities of the respective electoral unit.
[28][(6) In addition to the candidate for the office
of the head of the local government, a political party or an electoral group
shall field at least as many qualified candidates for election as there are
seats of general councillors and seats reserved for women, religious
minorities, peasants and workers.]
[29][(7) Where a political party or an electoral
group is contesting an election under this Act, its candidates for councillors
shall contest election on the list of the political party or the electoral
group prepared under subsection (8).]
[30][(8) A
political party or an electoral group contesting election under this Act shall
indicate the names of the candidates for different seats of councillors on the
list in ranking order in which they may be elected on the basis of votes
obtained by the political party or the electoral group.]
(9) After expiry of the date fixed for submission of nomination
papers for an election under this Act, the list referred to in subsection (8)
shall not be varied by any political party or, as the case may be, any
electoral group in terms of ranking order of the candidates or the name of the
candidates by way of addition of a fresh name or omission of an existing name
in the list.
(10) Nothing in this section shall prevent a political party or an
electoral group from:
(a) nominating not more than two additional candidates for the election of a head of the local government to provide for rejection of the appointed candidate under section 92 of this Act, or his inability to contest election for any other reason; and
[31][(b) fielding as many qualified
candidates to the seats of various categories of councillors in excess of but
not less than the number of such seats provided for the respective council
under section 20 keeping in view rejection of nominations under section 92, or
for filling casual vacancies during the term of the council for any reason
under section 119.]
[32][(11)* * * * * * * *]
(12) The convenor shall be
elected by the councillors from amongst themselves in the prescribed manner through
simple majority of votes.
(13) Where the office of the
head of the local government or, as the case may be, the convenor falls vacant
during their term of office, they shall be elected in terms of section 118 and
119 of this Act receptively.
84. Electoral
units.– (1) The entire local area shall constitute
one multi-member at large electoral unit for elections to the respective council.
(2) The Election Commission shall, not less
than sixty days prior to the date fixed for the election, notify electoral
units in the official gazette.
[33][(3) The
electoral units constituted under this section shall remain valid for every
subsequent election under this Act unless altered by the Election Commission
subsequent to review of local areas under this Act.]
[34][85. Enlistment
of an electoral group.– (1) The Election Commission
shall, through public notice, specify the dates for enlistment of electoral
groups of a local government with the office of the Election Commission for
election under this Act.
(2) The
head of a proposed electoral group may, in the prescribed manner, apply for
enlistment of the electoral group and in case of:
(a) a Metropolitan Corporation, submit a list of two hundred or
more members of the electoral group and deposit a non-refundable fee of fifty
thousand rupees;
(b) a Municipal Corporation, submit a list of one hundred or more
members of the electoral group and deposit a non-refundable fee of twenty-five
thousand rupees; and
(c) any
other local government, submit a list of fifty or more members of the electoral
group and deposit a non-refundable fee of ten thousand rupees.]
[35][86. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *]
[36][87. Electoral
rolls.– (1) The Election Commission shall use the electoral
rolls prepared under the Elections Act for election under this Act.
(2) For
issuance of an additional ballot paper to a voter belonging to the religious
minorities in an electoral unit, the Election Commission shall specify mark or
any other indication on the electoral rolls for the identification of such
voter.]
[37][88.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *]
[38][89.
* ** * * * * * * * * ****** ]
90. Right
to vote.– (1) No person shall be eligible to vote in an electoral unit unless his name,
for the time being, appears in the electoral roll of that electoral unit.
[39][(2) Subject to subsection (3), a voter may cast
only one vote for the election to the offices of the head of the local
government and councillors to the general seats and seats reserved for women,
peasants and workers.]
(3) A person whose name, for the time being,
appears on electoral roll of religious minorities in an electoral unit, shall in
addition to the right to cast a vote under subsection (2), have the right to cast
a second vote for the election to the office of councillor or councillors reserved
for religious minorities.
Chapter XV – Conduct of Elections
91. Notification
of election date and call up for election.– (1)
Through an order published in the official gazette, the Election Commission
shall, after having consulted the Government on this matter, fix a date or
several dates for elections to one or more electoral units under this Act and
thereby call upon:
(a)
the voters of the electoral unit to elect the head of
the local government and councillors; and thereafter
(b)
the councillors to elect the convenor.
(2) Subject to the provisions of section 118
of this Act, the date or dates fixed for an election under sub-section (1)
shall be no earlier than one hundred and twenty days from the date of
publication of the order in the official gazette.
92. Only
nominated and eligible persons allowed to contest elections.–
(1) No persons shall be nominated
for an election under this Act unless he is otherwise eligible for an election
in terms of section 109 of this Act.
[40][(2) A person shall not contest
an election under this Act unless a political party or an electoral group
includes the person as candidate for head of the local government or on its
list of candidates of councillors under the Act.]
[41][(3) The Returning Officer shall not accept the
nomination of a candidate unless the amount as may be prescribed is paid in
cash or in the form of a bank draft or pay order in favour of the Election
Commission by or on behalf of the candidate as candidature fee.
(3A) The candidature fee paid by or on behalf of
the candidate shall be non-refundable.
(3B) The Returning Officer shall deposit the
cash, bank draft or pay order received as candidature fee as may be prescribed.
(3C) A candidate may pay only one candidature
fee even if the candidate is nominated for the same seat by more than one
nomination papers.]
(4) The [42][Returning Officer] shall, after public
notice and hearing the person nominated as a candidate or a person authorized
by him in this behalf, satisfy itself that each nomination has been properly
made and the person nominated as a candidate is eligible to be a candidate for
the relevant election under this Act.
[43][(5) A candidate shall not contest election under
this Act unless the Returning Officer is satisfied that the candidate is
validly nominated and qualified to be a candidate under this Act.]
[44][93. Polling stations and appointment of electoral officers.– The
Election Commission shall set up such number of polling stations and polling
booths as may be required for an election under this Act and may appoint such
number of electoral officers as it considers appropriate for such election
under the Elections Act.]
94. All
political parties, electoral groups and candidates allowed to appoint election
and polling agents.– [45][(1) Every
political party and electoral group contesting election under this Act may
appoint one election agent for the entire electoral unit and one polling agent
for each polling booth at every polling station in the electoral unit.]
(2) No person shall be appointed as an election
agent or a polling agent under this section unless he is otherwise qualified to
be elected as a councillor under this Act.
[46][95. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *]
96. Code
of Conduct for elections.– (1) The Election
Commission shall by an order published in the official gazette, prescribe a
Code of Conduct for candidates, election agents, polling agents and other
relevant persons for every election under this Act.
(2) The Code of Conduct
prescribed under subsection (1) shall, among other things, define the
consequences of violation of its provisions and the authority responsible for
taking cognizance of such violations and their powers for such purpose.
97. Returned
candidates.– (1) The
candidates to the office of the head of the local government appointed by the
political party or, as the case may be, the electoral group, securing highest
number of votes in the respective electoral unit shall stand elected.
(2) The candidates to the office of a councillor
shall be elected in the ranking order given by the political party or the electoral
group on whose list they are contesting under section 83 of this Act, in
proportion to the votes secured by that political party or, as the case may be,
electoral group in the respective electoral unit in the prescribed manner.
[47][(3) Where there is equality of votes between two
or more political parties or electoral groups obtaining highest votes, the
Returning Officer shall forthwith draw a lot in respect of such political
parties or electoral groups and on whom the lot falls, its candidate for head of the local
government shall be declared elected.]
(4) The councillor securing highest number
of votes of the councillors in a special meeting of the council shall stand
elected as the convenor.
(5) Immediately after the counting of votes,
the results of every election under this Act shall be announced through a
public notice by [48][the Returning Officer] which shall be
followed by a notification in the official gazette by the Election Commission.
[49][98. Election to be called in question only before Election Tribunal.– (1) No election under this Act shall be called in question except through an election petition made to the Election Tribunal constituted under the Elections Act.
(2) The Election
Tribunal shall follow procedure and exercise powers under the Elections Act.]
[50][99. **************]
[51][100.**************]
[52][101.
**************]
[53][102.
**************]
[54][103.
**************]
[55][104.
**************]
[56][105.
**************]
[57][106. Notification of election, resignation and removal.– (1) The Election
Commission shall, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of information,
notify every election or a vacancy occurred due to death, resignation,
disqualification or removal of a head of a local government, convenor or
councillor and publish the same in the official Gazette.
(2) The Government shall immediately inform
the Election Commission about occurrence of the vacancy.]
107. Limit of election expenses and consequences of exceeding such
limit.– (1)
Election expenses of a candidate to an election under this Act, his agent
or any other person on his behalf, shall accumulatively not exceed such amount
as [58][may be prescribed and different amount may be prescribed for different
categories of candidates].
(2) Without any prejudice to
the provisions of section 273 of this Act, where election expenses of an
elected candidate exceed the limit specified under subsection (1), he shall be
disqualified by the Election Commission from holding his office.
108. Duty to declare election expenditure and consequences of failure.– (1)
Every candidate shall, in not more than thirty days from the date of
an election under this Act, submit a return on expenditures incurred by him,
his agent or by some other person on his behalf on that election.
(2) Without any prejudice to the provisions
of section 274 of this Act, an elected candidate who fails to submit a return
under subsection (1), or submits a return that contains particulars that to the
knowledge of the candidate are false or misleading in a material particular, shall
be disqualified by the Election Commission from holding his office.
Chapter XVI – Qualifications and
Term of Office of Councillors
109. Qualification
for being a candidate and to hold the office of head of the local government, convenor
or councillor.– (1) A person shall be eligible to
be a candidate for the office of a head of the local government, convenor or councillor
if:
(a)
he, on the last day fixed for the filing of nomination
papers for that election, is not less than twenty-five years of age; and
(b)
his name appears for the time being in the electoral
roll of the electoral unit from where he is a candidate.
(2) Without any prejudice to
the provisions of subsection (1), no person shall be eligible to be a candidate
for the office of a head of the local government, convenor or councillor or to
hold the office of a head of the local government, convenor or councillor if:-
[59][(a) he is not eligible
or becomes ineligible to be enrolled as a voter under the Elections Act;]
(b)
he has been convicted by a court of competent
jurisdiction on a charge of corrupt practice, moral turpitude or misuse of
power or authority under any law for the time being in force;
(c) he is under contract
for work to be done or goods to be supplied to that local government or has
otherwise any pecuniary interest in its affairs;
(d) he is in or enters
into the service of Pakistan, or any statutory body or other body which is set
up, or owned or controlled by the Government, or a local government in Pakistan,
or in which the Government or a local government has controlling share or
interest or he is or becomes a salaried official of a public or statutory
corporation;
(e) he holds an office of
profit in the service of Pakistan other than an office which is not whole-time
office remunerated either by salary or by fee, or the office of Lumbardar, whether called by this or any other title, or
the office of Qaumi Razakar;
(f) he has been dismissed,
discharged or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan, or the service
of a local government or a public or statutory corporation on the charge of misconduct
or a corrupt practice;
(g)
he has obtained a loan for an amount of ten hundred
thousand rupees or more, from any bank, financial institution, cooperative
society or cooperative body in his own name or in the name of his spouse or any
of his dependents, which stands unpaid for more than one year from the due
date, or has had such loan written off unlawfully;
(h)
he, his spouse or any of his dependents has not paid any
tax, fee or any other charge payable to the government or a local government,
or any amount exceeding ten thousand rupees due upon him, his spouse or any of
his dependant for the use of any service such as telephone, electricity, gas
and water for over six months;
(i)
he is declared a defector from his political party or,
as the case may be, electoral group under section 110 of this Act; and
(j)
he is or becomes disqualified for membership of the
Parliament or a Provincial Assembly under any law for the time being in force.
(3) Where
a person contesting an election to any office in the local government claims to
be a Muslim, he shall submit to the Returning Officer a declaration given in
the Sixth Schedule along with his nomination papers for the election.
110. Defection from a
political party or electoral group. – (1) The head of a political party or an electoral
group may, after giving him an opportunity to show cause, declare a head of the
local government, convenor or [60][councillor] to have defected his political party or, as
the case may be, the electoral group who, after having been elected on its
list:
(a)
joins another political party or an electoral group;
or
(b)
votes or abstains from voting in the council
contrary to any direction of the political party or, as the case may be,
electoral group in relation to the election of the convenor under section 83 of
this Act, or a vote for removal of the head of the local government or convenor
under section 202 of this Act.
(2) After
having declared a [61][councillor] defector, the head of the political party
or, as the case may be, electoral group shall forthwith forward a copy of the
declaration to the Election Commission.
(3) Where
the declaration is confirmed by the Election Commission after due notice and
inquiry, the head of the local government, convenor or [62][councillor] referred to in subsection (1) shall cease to
hold office.
Explanation: For the purpose
of this section, the head of a political party or electoral group shall mean
any person by whatever name called, declared as such by the political party or,
as the case may be, electoral group.
111. Effect
of being found to be disqualified to be candidate, head of the local government,
convenor or councillor.– (1) A person, on being found by the Election Commission
to have filed nomination papers for a local government election or having held
the office of a head of the local government, convenor or councillor while
knowing that he is not eligible to file such nomination papers or to hold such
office under section 109 of this Act; or have made election expenses in excess
of the limit given under section 107 of this Act; or to have failed to file a
return on election expenses under section 108 of this Act; or filed a return
that contains particulars that to his knowledge are false or misleading, shall:-
(a) in case he is a
candidate to a local government election, stand disqualified from being a
candidate for the office of the head of the local government, convenor or a
councillor for the following five years.
(b) in case he is a head
of the local government, convenor or councillor, cease forthwith to be such head
of the local government, convenor or councillor and stand disqualified from
being a candidate for the office of the head of the local government, convenor
or a councillor for the following five years.
(2) The Government, or any resident of the
relevant local area may make a written complaint to [63][the Returning Officer or] the Election Commission
to seek disqualification of a candidate from contesting local government
election or a head of the local government, convenor or councillor from holding
office on any ground mentioned in this section.
(3) Every order of [64][the Returning Officer or] the Election Commission
under this section shall be in writing and made after due inquiry into
circumstances of the case.
112. Bar
against double membership and requirement to tender resignation to contest for
certain other political offices.– (1) No person
shall at the same time be a head of the local government or a councillor of
more than one local governments.
(2) Without
any prejudice to the provision of subsection (1), no person shall at the same
time be a head of the local government or a councillor and a member of a Provincial
Assembly or the Parliament.
(3) No
head of the local government or convenor shall contest elections for any other
political office without first resigning from and vacating his office.
(4) Where
a councillor is elected to any other political office, immediately upon
notification of such election, his seat as councillor shall become vacant.
113. Term
of office of the council, head of the local government, convenor and councillors.– (1) Every council shall, unless it is
dissolved earlier under section 233 of this Act, continue for a period of four
years from the date of its first meeting.
(2) As
soon as may be after the notification of the results of an election by the
Election Commission, the Government shall fix a date or several dates of the
first meeting of the councils.
(3) Where
for any reason, no date is fixed under subsection (2) despite the lapse of
forty-five days after the notification of the results of an election, the
elected head of the local government may call first meeting of the council.
(4) The
term of office of every head of the local government, convenor and councillor
shall, unless removed earlier under this Act, be the same as that of the council.
114. Oath
of office and submission of declaration etc.– (1) A person elected
as a head of the local government, convenor or councillor shall, before assuming
his office, make and subscribe to an oath, appropriate to his office, in the form set out in the Seventh
Schedule.
(2) A
head of the local government, convenor or councillor shall, after taking an oath
under subsection (1), make and submit a declaration as to his immediate
relatives and assets to the Government through the respective Chief Officer,
respectively in the form set out in the Eighth and Ninth Schedule or such other
form as the Government may from time to time prescribe.
(3) The
Government shall notify the fact of assumption of office by every head of the
local government, convenor and councillor in the official gazette after having
satisfied itself that the declarations referred to in subsection (2) above have
been appropriately made.
115. Every
head of the local government, convenor and councillor to declare assets annually.– In the like manner, every head of the local
government, convenor and councillor shall declare his assets to the Government
through the respective Chief Officer in the form set out in the Ninth Schedule or
such other form as the Government may from time to time prescribe each
subsequent year of his office by the appointed date.
116. Effect
of failure to take oath or submit declaration.– (1) The Election Commission
shall, after giving him an opportunity to show cause, disqualify an elected head
of the local government, convenor or councillor from holding office, who fails
to make or submit a declaration under section 114 of this Act within thirty
days from the date of his election.
(2) In
the like manner, the Election Commission shall, after giving him an opportunity
to show cause, remove a head of the local government, convenor or councillor
from office who fails to make or submit a declaration under section 115 of this
Act within thirty days from the appointed date.
(3) The
Government, respective Chief Officer or any resident of the relevant local area
may make a written complaint to the Election Commission for disqualification of
a head of the local government, convenor or councillor under this section.
117. Resignation
by a head of the local government, convenor or councillor.– (1) Any head of the local government, convenor
and councillor may, at any time, resign from his office by writing under
his hand to the respective Chief Officer whereupon his resignation shall be
deemed to have been accepted and effective forthwith.
(2) The
Chief Officer receiving a resignation under subsection (1) shall forward it to the
Government immediately.
[65][(3) The Government shall immediately send the
resignation to the Election Commission which shall, by notification to be
issued within fifteen days from the date of receipt of resignation, declare the
office of the resigning head of the local government, convenor or councillor to
be vacant from the date of receipt of resignation by the Chief Officer.]
(4) Notwithstanding
the resignation of a head of the local government, convenor or councillor under
subsection (1), any proceedings for his removal under section 116, 230 or 232
of this Act, if already initiated, shall not abate.
118. Fresh
elections in case of vacancy in the office of the head of the local government.–
(1) If the office of the
head of the local government falls vacant during the term of the council due to
his removal under section 202 of this Act, the Election Commission shall hold a
fresh election to the offices of the head of the local government, the convenor
and all councillors under section 91 of this Act.
(2) If the office of the head of the local
government falls vacant during the term of the council for any reason other
than the reason referred to at subsection (1), the Election Commission shall
hold a fresh election to the office of the head of the local government under
section 91 of this Act.
(3) The head of the local government, convenor
and councillors elected through an election under this
section shall, unless removed earlier under this Act, hold office for the
residual term of the council.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsection (1) and (2), if the office of a head of the local government falls
vacant within one hundred and twenty days before the expiry of the term of the council,
no fresh elections shall be called.
119. Filling
of casual vacancies of convenor and councillors.– (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), if,
for any reason, the office of a councillor falls vacant during the term of a council,
the candidate immediately below the last elected candidate in the ranking order
declared under section 83 of this Act by the political party or the electoral
group to which the councillor vacating the office belonged, shall be elected to
that office.
(2) If, for any reason, the office of the convenor
falls vacant during the term of a council, the council shall elect a convenor
through fresh election under section 91 of this Act.
(3) A convenor or councillor elected under this
section shall, unless removed earlier under this Act, hold office for the
residual term of the council.
(4) If a vacancy referred to in subsection
(1) or subsection (2) occurs within one hundred and twenty days before the
expiry of the term of the council, the vacancy shall not be filled.
120. Temporary accession to
the office of a head of the local government and convenor.– (1) The convenor
shall accede to the office of the head of the local government during his
temporary absence.
(2) The
convenor may nominate one of the councillor to accede to his office during his
temporary absence and where no such nomination is made, the councillors may
choose any one of them to accede to the office of the convenor during his
temporary absence.
Explanation: For the purpose of this
section, absence shall mean temporary absence from office for reasons such as
leave, travel and illness for a period of not more than sixty days.
PART 4
LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND
PROPERTIES
Chapter XVII – Local Government
Funds
122. Funds
of a local government.– (1) Every local government shall establish
and maintain the following funds, namely:
(a)
a local fund for the credit of such moneys and for
such purposes as respectively specified in sections 123 and 124 of this Act;
and
(b)
a public fund for the credit of such moneys and for
such purposes as respectively specified in sections 125 and 126 of this Act.
(2) A local government may:
(a)
establish a sinking fund under section 145 of this Act
for repayment of any money borrowed by the local government under this Act;
(b)
with the prior permission of the Government, establish
a special fund for any purpose other than the purposes mentioned in sections 124,
126 and 145 of this Act.
(3) All funds of a local government
shall be held in trust for the purposes of this Act.
All moneys payable to any fund of a local government shall be received by
or on behalf of that local government and shall be forthwith consigned to
custody as per the provisions of section 127 of this Act.
(4) All funds of a local government
shall be administered in such manner as may be prescribed.
123. Credit
of moneys to a local fund.– (1) There shall be credited to the local
fund of a local government:-
(a)
such moneys as the local government may, on coming
into force of this Act, succeed from the balance funds of a defunct local
government under section 4 of this Act;
(b)
proceeds of all taxes, fees, rates, tolls, rents and
other charges levied by or on behalf of the local government under this Act;
(c)
all moneys received as rents and profits payable or
accruing to the local government from property vested in or controlled or
managed by it;
(d)
all moneys received as proceeds of the disposal of
local government properties by, or on behalf of the local government under this
Act;
(e)
all fines imposed under this Act and any such fine or
part thereof which shall stand transferred to the local government under any
other law for the time being in force;
(f)
all moneys received by way of any administrative
penalty, compensation or compounding of offences under this Act;
(g)
all moneys transferred to the local government by the
Government or by any other local government under this Act;
(h)
all moneys received as gifts, grants or contributions
made to the local government by any person, organization, institution or the
Government;
(i)
all moneys received by the local government in
connection with the performance of its functions under this Act or any other
law for the time being in force;
(j)
all interests and profits arising from any investment
of, or from any transaction in connection with, any money belonging to the
local government;
(k)
all loans raised by the local government under this
Act; and
(l)
all proceeds from such other sources of income as the
Government may, from time to time, direct to be placed at the disposal of the
local government.
(2) All moneys, for the time
being, in a local fund shall form part of the composite cash balance of the Punjab
but shall be used exclusively for the purpose of and in accordance with the
provisions of this Act.
124. Application
of local fund.– (1) The
moneys credited to the local fund shall be applied to various purposes in the
following order of preference:-
(a) Firstly, in making due provisions for the repayment of loan payable by
the local government under Chapter XIX of this Act;
(b) Secondly, in making due provisions for the satisfaction of any judgement,
decree or award against the local government;
(c) Thirdly, in making payments for the conduct of election under this Act and
in meeting any other expenditure declared by the government to be an
appropriate charge on the local government;
(d) Fourthly, in discharging all liabilities imposed upon the local government
under section 4 of this Act;
(e) Fifthly, in the payment of salaries, allowances and other remunerations
of the officers and servants of the local government and, in so far as
practicable, making due provisions for their pensions and similar other expenses;
(f) Sixthly, in the payment of all other sums, charges and costs necessary
for effective discharge of functions of the local government under section 21 of
this Act and for otherwise carrying into effect this Act, or of which the
payment shall be duly or directly sanctioned under any of the provisions of
this Act.
(2) A local government shall not, directly
or indirectly, apply any part of its local fund, or any money under its
control, for any purpose not authorised specifically or generally under this
Act or any other law for the time being in force.
(3) During every financial year in which local government
elections are to be held, the expenditure or commitment of expenditure of a
local government prior to the convening of elections shall not exceed eight per
centum per mensem of the relevant approved estimate of receipts and
expenditure.
125. Credit
of monies to public fund.– (1) There shall be credited to the public fund
of a local government:-
(a)
all receipts accruing from a trust administered or
managed by the local government;
(b)
refundable deposits received by the local government
from one or more other local governments;
(c)
all deferred liabilities of the local government; and
(d)
an amount paid to the local government in trust for a
person.
(2) The moneys in a public fund shall not
form part of the composite cash balance of the Punjab.
126. Application of public fund.– (1) The moneys from time to time credited to the public fund of a local government
shall be applied in the following manner, namely:-
(a)
all
payments accruing from a trust administered or managed by the local government
shall be applied for the purposes of that trust;
(b)
all
refundable deposits received by the local government from another local government
shall be applied for the refund of the deposited amount to that local government;
(c)
all moneys
received as a deferred liability shall be applied towards retiring that
liability; and
(d) an amount paid to local government in trust for a
person shall be applied for making payment to that person.
(2) The moneys from time to time credited to
the public fund of a local government shall not be applied to any purpose other
than the purposes specified in this section.
127. Custody
of funds.– (1) All moneys credited to a local fund, public fund or any
other fund established under section 122 of this Act shall, if not otherwise
invested in accordance with section 128 of this Act, be kept in the State Bank,
or such other bank or banks as may be appointed by the Government for this
purpose.
(2) All interests, profits, dividends or
other sums received in respect of such custody of a fund shall, as soon as may
be, after receipt or becoming due, accrue to that fund.
128. Investment
of surplus funds.– (1) A local government may, from time to time, invest for
profitable purposes any sums in its local fund, public fund or any other fund
which cannot immediately or at an early date be applied to the purposes of this
Act or of any loan raised under this Act –
(a) in government
securities;
(b) with a bank authorized
by the Government;
(c) with a deposit-taking
institution authorized by the Government; or
(d) in any other manner
prescribed by the Government either generally or specifically to be an authorized
manner of investment for the purpose of this section.
(2) All incomes, profits, dividends or other
sums resulting from an investment made under subsection (1) shall, as soon as
may be, after receipt or becoming due, accrue to the relevant fund.
129. Cognizance
of wrongful application of moneys.– Where, in the opinion of the
Government, a local government has applied or is applying money in the local
fund to a purpose not specified, or in disregard of the order of preference
given under subsection (1) of section 124 of this Act, or to a purpose without
first applying sufficient amount to a purpose carrying higher order of
precedence, or moneys in the public fund to a purpose not specified in section 126
of this Act, the Government may, in addition to proceeding against the head of
the local government under any other provision of this Act, direct the person
having custody of that local fund to pay such amount or so much thereof as may
be possible from time to time, from the balance of the local fund to the
purpose which has been disregarded or to which insufficient amounts have been
applied.
Chapter XVIII – Local Government
Budget
(2) No
expenditure shall be incurred by or on behalf of a local government from its
local fund unless it is:
(a) previously authorized
in the estimates of receipts and expenditure approved under sections 131 of
this Act;
(b) previously authorized
in the estimates of receipts and expenditure certified by the Government under
section 132 or 137 of this Act;
(c) previously authorized
in the estimates of receipts and expenditure revised or readjusted under
section 133 or 134 of this Act;
(d) made under an order of
the Government under section 124 of this Act; or
(e) necessarily incurred
in circumstances of emergency in relation to a function of the local government.
(3) All
expenditures incurred by or on behalf of a local government in the circumstances
of an emergency shall, as soon as may reasonably be possible, brought to the
notice of the council and if such expenditure was made by a Chief Officer or
any other authority, also to the notice of the head of the local government.
(4) A
consolidated account of all expenditures incurred during each financial year
shall be presented to the council when an estimate of receipts and expenditure
for the next following financial year is presented under section 131 of this
Act.
131. Submission
of estimates of receipt and expenditure by head of the local government and its
approval.– (1) Every financial year, during the third
week of March, the head of the local government shall:
(a) cause to be prepared a
draft estimate of receipts and expenditure of the respective local government
for the next following financial year;
(b) publish the draft
estimate of receipts and expenditure for public information in such manner as
may appear appropriate to him to solicit suggestions and objections;
(c) consider any
suggestion and objections received; and
(d) not less than fifteen
days after the publication of draft estimate of receipts and expenditure,
present it before the council.
(2) The
council may, at a public meeting and with a simple majority of vote of all
councillors holding office:
(a) revise the draft
estimate of receipts and expenditure in such manner as the council considers
appropriate;
(b) having regards to the
provisions of sections 134, 135 and 136 of this Act, approve the estimate of
receipt and expenditure.
(3) Where
in the view of the head of the local government, revision of estimate of
receipts and expenditure under clause (a) of subsection (2) above is not in
accordance with the provisions of this Act or is otherwise inappropriate, he
may, again present the estimate of receipt and expenditure, with or without any
revision, before the council.
(4) The
council may, at a public meeting, consider the estimate of receipt and
expenditure presented before it under subsection (3) and:
(a) having regards to the provisions of sections
134, 135 and 136 of this Act, approve it with a simple majority of vote of all
councillors holding office; or
(b) revise or reject it with a two-third majority
of vote of all councillors holding office.
(5) Following
shall be the approved estimate of receipt and expenditure of the local
government for the following financial year:
(a) the
estimate approved under clause (b) of subsection (2);
(b) the
estimate approved or revised under subsection (4);
(c) the
estimate presented by the head of the local government which is not revised or
rejected by two-third majority of vote of the council under subsection (4).
(6) If,
for any reason, the estimate of receipt and expenditure is not approved before
the commencement of the financial year to which it pertains, the local government
expenditures, on various categories of expense, for that financial year shall
be made in accordance with the approved estimates for the preceding financial
year on pro rata basis till such time
the estimate is approved under this section or an order for this purpose is
issued by the Government under section 132 of this Act, whichever is earlier.
(2) The
estimate of receipts and expenditure certified under subsection (1) shall be
deemed to be the approved estimate of receipts and expenditure of the local government
for that financial year.
133. Revision
of the approved estimates.– (1) At any time before the expiry of the
financial year to which an approved estimate of receipts and expenditure relates,
the head of the local government or the council may reduce, add or transfer the
amount or a portion thereof from one category of expense in the estimate to
another category or authorize an additional category of expenditure, if the
same is considered necessary for the purpose of this Act,
(2) The revision of an approved estimate of
receipts and expenditure under this section shall, so far as may be, subject to
the provisions of section 131 of this Act.
134. Duty
of a local government to readjust income and expenditure in certain cases.– (1)
If at any time during a financial year, it appears to the head of the local
government or the council that the receipts of local fund of the local
government during the same financial year will not suffice to meet the
expenditure sanctioned under the approved estimate for that year, the head of
the local government or, as the case may be, the council shall sanction
forthwith any measures which they consider necessary for proportionating the
year’s receipt to expenditure.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), in
addition to any other measure authorized under this Act, a head of the local
government or, as the case may be, the council may either diminish the sanctioned
expenditure for relevant financial year so far as it may be possible with due
regards to all the requirements of this Act, or have recourse, subject to other
provisions of this Act, to supplementary taxation or to an increase of rates or
charges, or adopt all or any of those methods.
(3) The readjustment of an approved estimate
under this section shall, so far as may be, subject to the provisions of
section 131 of this Act.
(4) Where in the opinion of the Government, sufficient
circumstances exist for an action under subsection (1) and both the head of the
local government and the council are not taking such action or a sufficient
action, it may, after affording an opportunity of hearing to the head of the
local government, make one or more provisions as given under subsection (2) and
such provisions shall be deemed to be authorized by the local government under
this section.
135. Receipts
to always exceed the expenditure of local governments.– An estimate of
receipts and expenditures shall not be approved unless the estimated receipts
for the relevant financial year exceed the sums required to meet estimated
expenditure of a local government for that year.
136. Ring fencing of expenditure of local
governments.– The Government may, in consultation with the Finance
Commission, fix minimum expenditure requirements which shall be met by a local
government during any financial year towards one or more public services
provided by it which, in its opinion, is necessary to maintain minimum service
standards pertaining to that public service.
137. Authority
of the Government to review approved estimates.– (1) Every Chief Officer
shall forthwith submit every estimate of receipt and expenditure approved or
revised by the respective local government to the Government for review.
(2) If during a review under subsection (1),
it is determined that the approved or revised estimate of receipts and
expenditure is contrary to any provision of this Act or the rules, the
Government may after offering an opportunity of hearing to the head of the
local government, direct the local government to suitably amend the estimate
within a prescribed period.
(3) If the local government fails to amend
the estimate of receipts and expenditure pursuant to a direction under
subsection (2), the Government may amend the estimates itself and certify them.
(4) The estimate of receipts and expenditure
certified under subsection (3) shall be deemed to be the approved estimate of
receipts and expenditure of the local government for the relevant financial
year.
138. Advance
notification of provisional amounts by Finance Commission.– (1) The Finance
Commission shall, by the first of March of each financial year, notify the
provisional amounts which may be credited to the local fund of each local government
from provincial allocable amount during the following financial year under
section 185 of this Act.
(2) If
provisional amounts to be transferred to the local fund of a local government are
not notified as required under subsection (1), the local government may proceed
with the preparation and approval of estimate of receipts and expenditure based
on the amount of funds credited to it by the Government during the preceding
financial year.
(3) The
estimate of receipts and expenditure approved under subsection (2) may be
revised by the local government after the notification of amounts to be
credited to its local fund in, so far as may be, accordance with the provisions
of section 131 of this Act.
Chapter XIX – Borrowing by Local Governments
139. Power
of a local government to borrow money for certain purposes.– (1) Having
regards to other provisions of this Act, a local government may with the
previous sanction of the Government, raise a loan of any sums of money for one
or more of the following purposes, namely:-
(a)
undertaking a work of permanent nature;
(b)
purchase of any facility, amenity, equipment, plant,
or apparatus the cost of which, in the opinion of the council, be spread over a
term of two or more years;
(c)
acquisition of land for the purposes of this Act; and
(d)
repayment of a loan raised by the local government
under this Act or any other loan or debt for the payment of which the local government
is liable.
(2) A local government shall not raise a
loan under subsection (1) except in pursuance of a resolution of the council in
a special meeting.
(3) The amount of loan to be raised, the
period within which it shall be repaid and terms and conditions and method by
which the loan is to be raised and repaid by a local government, shall be such
as approved by the Government.
140. Conditions precedent for approval of a loan
and methods of borrowing.– (1) No approval for a loan under
section 139 of this Act shall be granted unless the Government is satisfied
that:
(a)
the loan is meant for one or more purposes mentioned
in section 143 of this Act;
(b)
by reason of the nature of expenditure incurred or to
be incurred by a local government, the expenditure shall be met by borrowing;
and
(c)
the financial position of the local government is such
that the repayment of loan is likely.
(2)
Subject to approval of the Government, a local
government may raise a loan by any one or more of the following methods:-
(a) on the security of all
or any immovable property vested in the local government; or
(b) on the security of all
or any of the incomes likely to accrue to the local government from taxes, fees,
rates, tolls, rent and other charges under this Act; or
(c) by the issue of bills
or promissory notes payable within any period not exceeding twenty-four months;
or
(d) by an overdraft from a
bank; or
(e) by means of an
agreement with the Government for borrowing moneys out of the Local Development
Fund established under section 141 of this Act; or
(f)
by any other specified method.
141. Local
Development Fund.– (1) The Government shall establish and maintain a
fund to be called the Local Development Fund for the purposes of section 139 of
this Act.
(2) The
Government may require every local government to contribute money to the Local Development
Fund in such amounts and, in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) Without
any prejudice to the provisions of subsection (2), the Government may endow the
Local Development Fund with such sum as it may consider appropriate.
142. Limits
on authority of local government to borrow moneys.– The authority of a
local government to borrow money shall be limited so that the total sums
payable by the local government shall not, at any time, exceed together with
the balances of all outstanding loans and debts due by the local government, in
the whole, double the average annual value of the taxes, fees, rates, tolls,
rent and other charges raised by that local government under this Act for the
three consecutive preceding financial years.
143. Application
of sums raised by borrowing.– (1)
When any sum of money has been borrowed by a local government under
section 139 of this Act:-
(a)
no portion thereof shall, without the previous
sanction of the Government, be applied to any purpose other than that for which
it was borrowed;
(b)
no portion thereof shall be applied to the payment of
salary, pension, any allowance or other remuneration to any officer or servant of
the local government; and
(c)
no portion thereof shall be applied to the payment of any
day to day expenditure of the local government.
(2) Nothing
in clause (b) of subsection (1) above may be construed to bar payment from the
borrowed money any sums on account of salary, pension or allowance or other
remuneration to such officers or staff of the local government who are
exclusively employed upon works for the construction of work for which the
money was borrowed.
144. Repayment
of borrowed moneys.– (1) Every loan raised by a local government
shall be repaid within the time approved under section 139 of this Act and by
such of the following methods as may be approved, namely:-
(a)
by payment from a sinking fund established under
section 145 of this Act in respect of the loan;
(b)
by equal or agreed payments of principal and interest;
(c)
by equal or agreed payments of principal;
(d)
from any sums borrowed for the purpose under section 139
of this Act; or
(e)
partly from the sinking fund in respect of the loan
and partly from money borrowed for the purpose under section 139 of this Act.
(2) A
local government may, with the prior sanction of the Government and after
securing an agreement with the lender, resettle the period and the terms by
which a loan raised by it is to be repaid.
145. Sinking
fund.– (1) Where payment from a sinking fund has been approved as a method
for the repayment of a loan under section 144 of this Act, the respective local
government shall establish a fund to be called the sinking fund for that loan
and pay into this fund on such dates as may have been approved, such sums as
will, with the accumulation of compound interest or any other profit, be
sufficient, after payment of all expenses, to pay off the loan at the approved
time.
(2) If at any time the sum standing to the
credit of a sinking fund is of such amount that if allowed to accumulate at
compound interest together with any other profit, it will be sufficient to
repay the loan at the time approved, further payments by the local government
into such fund may be discontinued with the previous permission of the
Government.
(3) A local government shall not apply sums
standing to the credit of a sinking fund to any purpose, other than repayment
of loan or investment under section 144 of this Act, unless the loan for the
repayment of which it was established is wholly repaid.
146. Investment
of sinking fund.– (1) All moneys paid into a sinking fund shall, as soon as
possible, be invested by the local government in one or more of the following methods, namely:-
(a)
in government securities;
(b)
in a deposit-taking institution nominated by the
Government from time to time; or
(c)
any other manner prescribed by the Government either
generally or specifically to be an authorized manner of investment for the
purpose of this section.
(2) All profits, interests, dividends or
other sums received in respect of any investment under subsection (1) shall, as
soon as possible after receipt, be paid into the appropriate sinking fund and
invested in the aforesaid manner.
(3) Any investment made under this section
may, from time to time, be varied or transposed.
147. Inspection
of sinking funds and payment of any deficient amounts by local government.– (1)
A sinking fund established under this Act shall be subject to annual
inspection by the Auditor General.
(2) A local government shall forthwith pay
into a sinking fund any such amount which the Auditor General may certify to be
deficient as a result of an inspection under subsection (1) unless the
Government by general or special order permits a gradual readjustment.
(3) In case of a dispute as to the accuracy
of any certificate made by the Auditor General under subsection (2), the relevant
local government may, after making the payment, refer the matter to the
Government and the decision of the Government with respect to that matter shall
be final.
148. Attachment
of local fund in default of repayment of loan.– (1) If any money borrowed
by a local government or any interest or cost due in respect thereof is not
repaid according to the conditions of the loan, the Government may if it has
itself given the loan and in other cases shall, on the application of the
lender, attach local fund or a portion thereof as it considers appropriate.
(2) After such attachment, no person except
an officer appointed in this behalf by the Government shall, in any way, deal
with the attached local fund or a portion thereof.
(3) An officer appointed under subsection
(2) may do all acts in respect of attached local fund or portion thereof which
any local government, authority or officer may have done if such attachment had
not taken place, and may apply the proceeds in satisfaction of the arrears and
of all interest and cost due in respect thereof and subsequent proceedings.
(4) No attachment under subsection (1) shall
defeat or prejudice any debt for which the fund or portion thereof is attached
was previously pledged in accordance with law, but all such prior charges shall
be paid out of the proceeds of the fund, or portion thereof, before any part of
the proceeds is applied to the satisfaction of the debt in respect of which
such attachment is made.
149. Annual
statement of moneys borrowed.– (1) The Chief Officer of a local government
shall at the end of each financial year, prepare a statement showing:-
(a)
the loans borrowed by the local government during the
financial year with particulars as to the amount and date of borrowing and the
annual loan charges;
(b)
in the case of every loan for which a sinking fund has
been established under section 145 of this Act, the amount of accumulation in
the sinking fund during the financial year showing separately the amount paid
to the credit of the sinking fund;
(c)
the loan repaid during the financial year and in the
case of loans repaid in instalments or by annual drawings, the amounts repaid
and the balance due at the close of the financial year; and
(d)
the particulars of investments to which the sinking
fund has been applied.
(2) Every statement prepared under
subsection (1) shall be laid before the council and a copy of such statement
shall be submitted to the Government and to the Auditor General on such date as
the Government may, from time to time, appoint.
Chapter XX – Local Government
Properties
150. Local
government properties.– (1) Subject to any conditions imposed by the
Government, all properties whether movable or immovable specified hereunder,
and all interests of whatsoever nature or kind therein, shall vest in a local
government:-
(a)
all lands, buildings or other properties which were
vested in any defunct local government of which the local government is the
successor under section 4 of this Act;
(b)
all lands or other properties transferred to the local
government or acquired by gift, purchase or otherwise for the purposes of this
Act;
(c)
all public and other buildings of every description
and all works, materials and things appertaining thereto which are maintained
by the local government in relation to its functions under this Act;
(d)
all lands, open spaces, play grounds, gardens, parks
and other places of public resort transferred to the local government by gift,
purchase or otherwise for the purposes of this Act;
(e)
all public streets, roads, bridges and other means of
public communication which are transferred to the local government and the
pavements, stone and other material thereof and also trees growing on, and
erections, materials, implements and things provided with them;
(f)
all public sewers and drains except those owned and
maintained under the Canal and Drainage Act, 1873 (Act VIII of 1873), and all
sewers, culverts and other channels for sullage in or under any public street,
or constructed by or for the local government in the respective local area and
all works, materials and things appertaining thereto;
(g)
all works for the disposal of refuse and night soil
maintained by the local government;
(h)
all public lamps, lamp posts and other appliances for
street lighting maintained by the local government;
(i)
all public streams, springs and works for supply,
storage and distribution of drinking water for public purposes maintained by
the local government and all buildings, machines, materials and things or land,
not being privately owned land, appertaining thereto;
(j)
all trees, plants and flowers on roadsides and other
places maintained by the local government; and
(k)
all other property which may vest in the local government
under any law for the time being in force or under an order of the Government
(2) Every local government shall maintain a
register of all properties along with a map of all immovable properties of
which it is the proprietor or which vests in it or which it holds in trust for
the Government or any other authority or person.
Explanation: For the purpose of this section, a building map shall
include any location maps as well as a map indicating the layout of the
building.
151. Application
of local government properties.– (1) The properties of a local government
shall not be applied for any purpose other than for the purposes of this Act or
any other law for the time being in force.
(2) A local government shall inspect,
manage, maintain and whenever so required develop or improve any property which
is owned by or vested in it or which is otherwise placed under its charge.
152. Disposal
of local government properties.– (1) Immovable properties of a local
government shall not be sold or permanently alienated except with the prior permission
of the Government.
(2) Such moveable properties of a local government
which, in the opinion of the council, may be disposed of as being no more
required or having become unserviceable, shall be sold through competitive bidding
in a public auction.
153. Resumption
of a property by the Government.– (1) The Government may resume any
immovable property transferred to a local government where such property is
required for a public purpose.
(2)
The Government shall not be liable to pay any
compensation for resumption of an immovable property under subsection (1) other
than the amount paid by the local government for transfer of that property and
the market value at the date of resumption of any building or works erected or
executed thereon by the local government subsequent to the aforesaid transfer.
(3)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the
Government a right to assume any immovable property which the local government
has acquired through purchase from its funds, or as a transfer or gift from a
person or entity not being the Government.
154. Annual
stock take of local government properties.– Once in every financial year, every local government shall take a
physical stock of all properties vested in it in the prescribed manner and
publish a report on the results for general information.
155. Insurance
of certain local government properties.– A local government may, subject to
the rules and any other relevant law for the time being in force, insure any
property, whether moveable or immoveable in which it has an insurable interest,
against any contingency which may result in the imposition of any liability or
loss to the local government.
Chapter XXI – Local Government
Taxes, Fees, Rates and Tolls
156. Authority
of a local government to levy taxes etc.– (1) A local government may, through a notification
published in the official gazette, levy all or any of the taxes, fees, rates,
tolls, rent and other charges given in the Tenth Schedule.
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), every
local government shall, among other things, abide by the directions of the
Finance Commission under clause (f) and (g) of subsection (1) of section 180 of
this Act.
157. Procedure
for imposition, revision or abolishment of a local tax etc.– (1) A head of
the local government may make proposal with respect to:-
(a)
levy of a new tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge under
this Act; or
(b)
increase or reduction in the incidence of a tax, fee,
rate, toll or other charge or otherwise revision of a tax, fee, toll or other
charge which is for the time being in force under this Act; or
(c)
suspension or abolishment of a tax, fee, rate, toll or
other charge which is for the time being in force under this Act; or
(d)
exemption of any person or class of persons, or
property or goods or class of property or goods, or services or other things
from the levy of a tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge which is for the time
being in force under this Act.
(2) Every proposal for levy of a new tax,
fee, rate, toll or other charge under subsection (1) shall, among other things,
mention:
(a) the class of persons,
or description of property or goods, or services or other things on which the
proposed tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge shall apply;
(b) the method of
assessment of the proposed tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge;
(c) the incidence at which
the tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge is to be levied.
(3) As soon as may be after making of a
proposal under subsection (1) above, the head of the local government shall,
through a public notice, invite suggestions and objections on the proposal
mentioning therein, among other things, the date and time by which the
suggestions and objections shall be submitted.
(4) The last date of submission of
objections under subsection (3) above shall be fixed in such manner as to allow
not less than thirty clear days commencing from the date of publication of the
notice.
(5) Any resident of the relevant local area
or a person affected by the proposal referred to in subsection (1) above, may
submit his suggestions or objections or both in writing to the Chief Officer by
the date and time appointed under subsection (3) above.
(6) After having considered all suggestions
and, as the case may be, objections received under subsection (5), the head of
the local government may:
(a) accept suggestions and
objections in as much as he deems appropriate and present a revise proposal
before the council in a public meeting; or
(b) reject the suggestions
and objections and present his original proposal before the council in a public
meeting.
(7) The council may with a simple majority
of vote of all councillors, for the time being holding office:
(a)
revise or further revise the proposal in such manner
as the council considers appropriate; or
(b)
having regards to other provisions of this Act,
approve the proposal;
(8) Where in view of the head of the local
government, the revision or further revision of the proposal under clause (a)
of subsection (7) above is not in accordance with the provisions of this Act or
is otherwise inappropriate, he may, present the proposal, with or without any further
revision, before the council again.
(9) The council may, at a public meeting:
(a) approve
the proposal presented before it with simple majority of vote of all
councillors holding office; or
(b) revise
or reject it with a two-third majority of vote of all councillors holding
office.
(10) Without
any prejudice to other provisions of this section, a proposal presented by a
head of the local government under subsection (8) which is not rejected or
revised by the council with two-third majority, should be deemed to have been
approved.
158. Date
on which local taxes etc. become effective.— Where a proposal for the levy of a tax, fee, rate,
toll or other charge; or for the suspension or abolishment; or increase or
decrease in the incidence or otherwise revision of a tax, fee, rate, toll or
other charge which is, for the time being, in force is approved under section
157 of this Act, the council or, as the case may be, the head of the local
government shall specify, in the official gazette referred in that section, a
date for the enforcement of the proposal and such tax, fee, rate, toll or other
charge, or the suspension or abolishment; or increase or decrease of the
incidence or any other revision shall take effect from that date.
159. Rating
areas and property tax.– (1) On the commencement of this Act, a rating
area in which tax has been imposed under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (Act
XVIII of 2013) shall continue to be the rating area within the meaning of the
Punjab Immovable Property Tax Act, 1958 (Act V of 1958).
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in
the Punjab Immovable Property Tax Act, 1958 (Act V of 1958) a local government
to which urban immovable property tax relates to, may determine the rate of
this tax in accordance with section 157 of this Act.
(3) If no determination under subsection (2)
is made, the rate of urban immovable property tax shall be determined under the
Punjab Immovable Property Tax Act, 1958 (Act V of 1958).
160. Power
of the Finance Commission in case of unfair local taxes etc.– (1) If
at any time, on a representation made to it for this purpose or otherwise, it
appears to the Finance Commission that the incidence of a tax, fee, rate, toll
rent or other charge imposed under this Act is unfair or excessive or that levy
of a tax, fee, rate, toll, rent or other charge or of any part thereof is
injurious to the interests of the general public, the Finance Commission may
through an order require the concerned local government to take, within a
prescribed period, measures to remove the objection.
(2)
If a local government fails to comply with the order
of the Finance Commission under subsection (1) to their satisfaction within the
prescribed period, the Government may suspend the levy of the objectionable tax,
fee, rate, toll or other charge or of such part thereof until the objection is
removed.
(3)
Any resident of the relevant local area or a person or
entity affected by the imposition or levy of a tax, fee, rate, toll or other
charge may make a representation to the Finance Commission under subsection
(1).
161. Duty
to furnish information on liability to local tax etc.– Every resident of
the relevant local area and every other person subject to any tax, fee, rate,
toll or other charge imposed under this Act, shall on demand of the
Chief Officer or an officer authorized by him in this behalf, furnish such information, produce such record
or accounts, or present such goods, vehicles, animals or other things which are
liable to the tax, fee, rate, toll, or other charge, as may be necessary for
the purpose of determining their liability to the tax, fee, rate, toll, or other
charge as the case may be or the assessment thereof.
162. Power
of entry for the purpose of valuation of local taxes etc.– The Chief
Officer or an officer authorized by him in this behalf, may after giving due
notice to the occupier, or, if there is no occupier, to the owner of a building
or premises, at any time between sunrise and sunset, enter upon any building or
premises for the purpose of assessing the liability of that building or
premises to any tax or inspecting any goods, vehicles, animals or other things
therein liable to any tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge under this Act.
163. Presentation
of bill for local taxes and rates.– (1) When any sums become due for
payment on account of any tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge under this Act,
the Chief Officer or any other officer authorized by him shall, cause to be
presented to any person liable for payment thereof a bill for the sum claimed
as due.
(2) Every such bill shall specify the period
for which and the property, occupation, services or things in respect of which
the sum is claimed and shall also give notice of the time by which the sums
shall be paid and liability incurred in default of payment and the time within
which an objection may be preferred against such claim under this Act.
164. Notice
of demand to be issued on non-payment of bill.– (1) If the sum for
which a bill has been presented under section 163 of this Act is not paid
within the time specified therein, the Chief Officer or any other officer
authorized by him may cause to be served upon the person to whom such bill has
been presented a notice of demand in the prescribed form.
(2) For every such notice of demand, a fee
of such amount, not exceeding fifteen per centum of the sums due, shall be
payable by the said person, and the said amount shall be included in the cost
of recovery.
165. Payment
of local tax etc. subsequent to receipt of bill or notice of demand and
consequences of default.– (1) A person upon whom a bill or notice of
demand has been served under section 163 or 164 of this Act, may:-
(a) pay the sum demanded
in the bill or notice of demand to the local government concerned as directed
in the bill or notice; or
(b) within fifteen days
from the service of such bill or notice of demand make an objection in writing
to the Chief Officer and show cause to his satisfaction as to why he should not
pay the sum indicated in the notice; or
(c) prefer an appeal in
accordance with the provisions of section 167 of this Act against the
determination of a Chief Officer under clause (b) above.
(2) Where such person does not pay the sum
demanded, or show cause or prefer an appeal under subsection (1), the Chief
Officer may refer a case for the recovery of such sums as an arrear of land
revenue to the respective Collector.
166. Investigation
of objections by Chief Officer.– (1) The Chief Officer shall cause
all objections made before him under section 165 of this Act to be entered in a
register to be maintained for this purpose and shall give a notice in writing
to the objector of a time and place at which his objection shall be
investigated.
(2)
At the time and place fixed under subsection (1), the
Chief Officer or any other officer authorized by him for this purpose, shall
hear the objection, in the presence of the objector or his authorized agent if
he appears; or may, for reasonable cause, adjourn the investigation.
(3)
When the objection has been determined, the order
passed on such objection shall be recorded in the register mentioned in
subsection (1) and if necessary, the bill or demand notice shall be amended or
withdrawn in accordance with the result of investigation.
(4)
The Chief Officer shall cause to be immediately
delivered to the objector, free of any charge, a certified copy of the order
made by him under subsection (3).
167. Opportunity
to make appeal against the determination of Chief Officer.– (1) A
person aggrieved with the determination of a Chief Officer under section 166 of
this Act, may, within thirty days of the receipt of such order, file an appeal
before the respective Collector.
(2)
No appeal shall be heard or determined by the Collector
unless it is made in writing and is accompanied by an order of the Chief
Officer appealed against.
(3)
It shall be the duty of every local government to give
effect to the decisions of the Collector in relation to an appeal made under
this section.
(4)
The Collector shall, for the purpose of this section,
have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) and shall be deemed to be a Court within the
meaning of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V
of 1898).
168. Liability
for local tax etc. to be called in question only under this Act.– No
assessment of a tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge under this Act or the liability
of a person for such tax, fee, rate or toll shall be called in question except
in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
169. Payments to be made in authorized banks against
receipts.– (1) All sums on account of a tax, fee, rate,
rent and any other charges under this Act shall paid to the local government
through an authorized bank unless a permission for any other method of
payment is obtained from the Government.
(2) For all sums paid to a local government
on account of any tax, fee, rate, rent, toll or other charge under this Act, a
receipt, stating among other things the amount and the tax, fee, rate, toll or
other charge on account of which it has been paid, shall be tendered by the
person receiving such payment on behalf of the local government.
170. Writing
off of irrecoverable taxes etc.– (1) At the close of each financial
year, every Chief Officer shall prepare a statement of all such sums due to the
respective local government on account of any tax, fee, rate, toll or other
charge which, in his opinion, are irrecoverable.
(2)
The Chief Officer shall present the statement prepared
under subsection (1) to the council and after due consideration, the council
may order that such sums or any part thereof shall be struck off the relevant
books kept under section 172 of this Act.
(3)
The Chief Officer shall cause an authenticated copy of
the statement prepared under subsection (1) along with an authenticated copy of
the statement of struck off dues to be displayed at a conspicuous place in the
office of the local government for public inspection and shall, on application
of any person, also cause to be furnished to him a copy thereof or any extract
thereof on payment of such reasonable fee as may, from time to time, be fixed
by the council.
171. Tax
etc. not to become invalid for defect in form.– (1) No assessment of
value, or charge or demand of any tax, fee, rate, toll or other levy made under
this Act, shall be called in question or in any way be effected by reason of:-
(a)
any mistake in the name, residence, place of business
or occupation of any person liable to pay such tax, fee, rate, toll or other
charge; or
(b)
any mistake in the description of any property,
service or thing liable to such tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge; or
(c)
any mistake in the amount of assessment of such tax,
fee, rate, toll or other charge; or
(d)
any clerical error; or
(e)
any other defect of form.
(2) It
shall suffice for any assessment of value, or levy or demand of a tax, fee,
rate, toll or other charge that the person, property, service or any other
thing subject thereof is so described as to be sufficiently identifiable.
172. Records
pertaining to valuation, assessment and collection of local tax etc.– (1)
Every Chief Officer shall prepare and maintain records pertaining to valuation,
assessment and collection of all taxes, fees, rates, tolls, rents and other
charges levied by the local government in the prescribed manner.
(2)
All records prepared and maintained by the Chief
Officer under subsection (1) above shall be authenticated by the respective head
of the local government.
(3)
The Chief Officer shall cause to be displayed at a
conspicuous place in the office of the local government a copy of all records
authenticated under subsection (2) above for public inspection and shall, on
application of any person, also cause to be furnished to him a copy thereof or
any extract thereof on payment of such reasonable fee as may, from time to
time, be fixed by the council.
173. Authority of the Government to appoint any
of its agency or officer for local tax collection.– (1) In the interest of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, the
Government may by a notification in the official gazette, direct that an agency
or an officer of the Government engaged in collection of its tax, fee, rate,
toll, or other charge shall also collect one or more taxes, fees, rates, tolls,
rents or other charges on the behalf
of one or more local governments or constitute a separate agency for this
purpose and provisions relating to the authority of the Chief Officer in relation
to collection of local tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge under this Act
shall mutatis mutandis apply on that
agency or officer.
(2) Agency or officer referred to in
subsection (1) above shall, to the extent of collection of a local tax, fee, rate,
toll or other charge be responsible to the respective local government.
Chapter XXII – Local Government
Finance Commission
174. Establishment
of Local Government Finance Commission.– (1) As soon as may be, but not later than one hundred and
twenty days of commencement of this Act, the Government shall appoint a
commission to be called the Punjab Local Government Finance Commission,
hereinafter referred to as the Finance Commission, to perform such functions as
are mentioned in this Act.
(2) The Finance Commission shall comprise of
thirteen members including the Chairperson as under:
(a)
The Minister in charge of Finance Department, who
shall also be the Chairperson of the Finance Commission;
(b)
The Minister in charge of Local Government Department,
who shall be the co-Chairperson of the Finance Commission;
(c)
Four members of the Provincial Assembly, out of whom
two shall be appointed by the leader of the house and the other two by the
leader of the opposition in the Punjab;
(d)
The Secretary in charge of Finance Department, who
shall also be the Secretary of the Finance Commission;
(e)
The Secretary in charge of Local Government and
Community Development Department;
(f)
The Secretary in charge of Planning and Development Department;
(g)
Four experts, out of whom one shall be a woman, on
local governments and local government finance appointed in terms of section
174 of this Act; and
(h)
Four heads of the local government selected through
drawing of lots in the following manner:
(i)
one head of the local government from amongst all heads
of Metropolitan Corporations in the Punjab;
(j)
one head of the local government from amongst all
heads of Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees and Town Committees in
the Punjab; and
(k)
two heads of the local government from amongst all
heads of Tehsil Councils in the Punjab.
(3) In case of the absence of the chairperson
for any reason, the co-chairperson shall chair the Finance Commission and in
case he is also absent, the present members shall elect one of them to chair
the Finance Commission for the duration of his absence.
(4) The Finance Commission may co-opt any
other person for advice in relation to a particular matter under its
consideration; however, the co-opted member shall have no right of vote.
(5) No proceedings or act of the Finance
Commission shall be invalid merely on ground of existence of a vacancy or
defect in composition of the Finance Commission.
(6) The members of the Finance Commission
shall be paid such remuneration and other allowances as the Government may
determine from time to time.
(7) The remuneration and other allowances of
a member of the Finance Commission shall not be varied to his disadvantage
during his term in office.
175. Term
of office and premature removal of certain members.– (1) The
Ministers and Secretaries referred to in section 174 of this Act shall be
ex-officio members of Finance Commission.
(2)
A head of the local government referred to in section 174
of this Act shall hold the office of member of Finance Commission for two year
from the date of assumption of office.
(3)
An expert member referred to in section 174 of this
Act shall hold office for four years from the date of assumption of office.
(4)
The Government may, after due
notice and inquiry in the prescribed manner, remove any member of the Finance
Commission, not being the member referred to in subsection (1), during the
tenure of his office on ground of inefficiency, misconduct, misuse of office or
inability to perform functions on account of bad health or physical or mental
incapacity.
(5)
Any member of the Finance Commission, not being the member
referred to in subsection (1),
may resign from his office by writing under his hand.
176. Casual
vacancies.– (1) Where the position of a member, not being the Minister or a
Secretary to the Government of the Punjab, becomes vacant on account of his resignation, removal,
death or for any other cause, the Government shall appoint a person to fill
this vacancy in the same manner as was applicable for the selection of that
member.
(2) A
person appointed under subsection (1) shall hold office for the remainder of
the term of office of the member to whom he replaces.
177. Eligibility
for appointment as an expert or a member representing heads of the local
governments.– (1) A person
shall be eligible for appointment as an expert member under
section 174 of this Act if:
(a)
he holds at least sixteen years education in a
discipline related to the functions of the Finance Commission, possesses
special knowledge of economics, public finance, accounts, or working of the
local governments in general with at least fifteen-year experience in the
aforesaid or any other related affairs;
(b)
he is, for the time being, qualified to be a candidate
for an election under section 109 of this Act;
(c)
he is not in the service of Pakistan or any office or
body which is set up, or owned or controlled by the Government, or a local government
in the Punjab, or in which the Government or a local government has a
controlling share or interest or otherwise holds any office of profit in the
Government;
(d)
he is not a member of a political party or holds any
office of a political party or is in the employment of a political party or on
the date of his consideration for appointment at least five years have not
lapsed since he ceased to be such member, or holder of such office or in such
employment.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection
(4), a person who has previously remained as an expert member shall be eligible
for re-appointment as a member of the Finance Commission.
(3) No head of the local
government shall be eligible for appointment as a member of the Finance
Commission if he has previously remained its member as a head of the local
government during the preceding four calendar years.
(4) An expert member or a head
of the local government who has previously been removed from the office of a
member of the Finance Commission under subsection (4) of section 175 of this
Act shall not be eligible for appointment as a member of the Finance Commission
subsequently.
178. Certain
restrictions to apply on subsequent employment of an expert member.– A
person who has remained an expert member of the Finance Commission shall not be
eligible for appointment in the service of Pakistan or any statutory body or
other body which is set up, or owned or controlled by the Government or a local
government in the province, or in which the Government or a local government
has a controlling share or interest or otherwise hold any office of profit in
the Government unless a period of two years has elapsed since the date of
relinquishment of his office as member.
179. Oath
of office of members of Finance Commission.– Before entering upon office,
every member of the Finance Commission shall make an oath in the form set out
in the Eleventh Schedule.
180. General
functions of the Finance Commission.– (1) In addition to any other work assigned
to it under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, the Finance
Commission shall:
(a)
establish formulae for determining the size of
provincial allocable amount and the share of local governments and panchayats
and neighbourhood councils from this amount under section 186 of this Act;
(b)
oversee and report upon the transfer of share of local
governments from the provincial allocable amount in accordance with the
formulae referred to in clause (a);
(c)
advise the Government or a local government on matters
relating to fiscal transfers to and fiscal performance of local governments;
(d)
advise the Government or a local government on specific
matters, objections or claims in relation to fiscal transfers under Chapter XXIII
of this Act;
(e)
support local governments in effecting improvements in
their fiscal capacity and performance, better budget management and increased
adherence to financial and procurement laws;
(f)
fix upper and lower limits of such local tax, fee, rate,
toll, rent or other charge imposed under this Act for various local governments
as it considers appropriate;
(g)
fix an enhanced incidence of a local tax, fee, rate,
toll, rent or other charge of a local government if it is under fiscal
distress;
(h)
recommend the schedule, nature and structure of
independent audits of the local governments;
(i) monitor fiscal
health of local governments on an annual basis in particular their fiscal
effort and performance; their ability to meet budgetary and development
targets, their debt management and to make a determination of fiscal distress
defined in terms of the ability of a local government to balance their budgets
by ensuring that the sum of estimated net revenues and appropriated fund
balances are sufficient to cover appropriations and other liabilities including
pension and general provident fund liabilities;
(j)
during the first month of each financial year, present
to the Government and all local governments in the Punjab a report on fiscal
performance of local governments during the previous financial year which
shall, among other things, include an analysis of the matters referred to in
this subsection and fiscal transfers made to the local governments and own
resources raised by them and their performance in meeting budgetary and
performance objectives.
(2) The report referred to in clause (h) of
subsection (1) shall be laid before the Provincial Assembly.
(3) The Finance Commission shall not be
subject to or take cognizance of the directions of any person as to the manner
in which it shall discharge its duties.
(4) The Government shall, during the
exercise of its powers under this Act, have regards to the recommendations, reports
and advice of the Finance Commission in relation to the matters mentioned under
subsection (1).
Explanation: For the purpose of this section, the term fiscal
stress shall mean the condition under which a local government is unable to
generate sufficient receipts within the period under question to meet its
expenditure and other liabilities.
181. Right
of local governments to refer objections to Finance Commission.– (1) Where a local government has any objection on
the sums to be transferred or likely to be transferred to it or to any other
local government from provincial allocable amount under this Act, that local government
may make a reference to the Finance Commission.
(2)
Every reference under subsection (1) shall be made in
writing and contain grounds of objection.
(3)
The Finance Commission shall, after due
notice and inquiry, decide every reference made to it under this section in not
more than sixty days.
182. Procedure
of Finance Commission.– (1) The Finance Commission shall, subject to
this Act and the rules, regulate its own procedure.
(2)
All decisions of the Finance Commission shall be made
through a simple majority of votes of the members present and voting on one
member one vote basis.
(3)
The quorum necessary for transaction of business at an
ordinary or special meeting of the Finance Commission shall be one-half of the
members holding office at the time out of whom not less than two shall be the expert
members.
(4)
All meetings of the Finance Commission shall be public
unless the members present, by a simple majority vote, decide to exclude public
from the whole or part of the proceedings on the ground that public information
of the proceedings of its meeting shall be prejudicial to public interest by
reason of the confidential nature of business to be transacted at that meeting
or for such other special reasons as may arise from the nature of business to
be transacted or the proceedings at the meeting.
(5)
The Finance Commission shall exercise the same powers
as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of
1908) with regards to summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and
compelling the production of documents and records for the purposes of this
Act.
183. Duty
of local governments and other public entities etc. to cooperate with Finance
Commission.– (1) The Finance Commission may require the Government, a local
government, an agency owned or managed by the Government or a local government,
or any other person or authority in the Punjab to render assistance to it or to
provide all information which it reasonably requires for the purposes of this
Act.
(2) It
shall be the duty of the Government and all such local governments, public
entities, or other persons and authorities to render assistance or to provide
information as is required by the Finance Commission under sub-section (1).
184. Secretariat
of the Finance Commission.– (1) The Finance Commission shall have a
secretariat comprising such number of officers and staff as the Government may
from time to time determine
(2)
There shall be a separate budget for the Finance
Commission in the annual budget of the Punjab.
(3)
The secretariat of the Finance Commission shall be
headed by the Secretary in charge of Finance Department who shall also be the
Principal Accounting Officer of the Finance Commission.
Chapter XXIII – Inter-governmental
Fiscal Transfers
185. Provincial allocable amount and transfers to the local governments.–
(1) Before the commencement of each financial year, the Government
shall set aside a portion of moneys likely to be received in the consolidated
fund during that financial year to be called the provincial allocable amount.
(2) The provincial allocable amount shall be
transferred to local governments, panchayats and neighbourhood councils in
accordance with the provisions of section 186 of this Act.
186. Process
for determination of provincial allocable amount and share of individual local
governments.– (1) As soon as
may be, but not later than six months of the commencement of this Act and at
least six months prior to the commencement of every fourth financial year
thereafter, the Finance Commission shall make recommendation to the Government
for establishing formulae for determining:-
(a) the size of provincial
allocable amount in accordance with the principles set out at section 189 of
this Act; and
(b) the collective share
of panchayats and neighbourhood councils and the share of individual local governments
from the provincial allocable amount in accordance with the principles set out
at section 190 of this Act.
(2) Not less than two months before the
commencement of each financial year, the Finance Commission shall make
recommendation to the Government in respect of:
(a)
the value of provincial allocable amount for that
financial year as per formula determined under clause (a) of subsection (1);
and
(b)
the moneys to be transferred to each local government
in the Punjab as per formula determined under clause (b) of subsection (1).
(3) The Government shall, within twenty-one
days of the receipt of a recommendation under subsection (1) or subsection (2) may:
(a)
accept it; or
(b)
refer it back to the Finance Commission if it considers
that it is not in accordance with this Act or suffers from a factual error.
(4) The Finance Commission shall, within
fifteen days of the receipt of a reference under clause (b) of subsection (3),
consider the views of the Government and resubmit its recommendation with or
without any amendment.
(5) As soon as may be after accepting a
recommendation under clause (a) of subsection (3) or resubmission of a recommendation
under subsection (4), the Government shall, having regards to the merits of the
recommendation and the provisions of this Act, approve the aforesaid formulae
with or without any amendment and where required also allocate provincial
allocable amount and the share of individual local governments from the
provincial allocable amount.
(6) The formulae, provincial allocable
amount and the shares of individual local governments from the provincial
allocable amount approved by the Government and the related recommendation of
the Finance Commission shall be tabled in the Provincial Assembly as part of
the Finance Bill for the relevant financial year.
187. Duty of Finance Commission to consider views of Government and local governments.–
In preparing a recommendation for the Government under section 186 of
this Act, the Finance Commission may inform itself in the way it considers
appropriate and shall also receive, consider and decide any submission made to
it by the Government or a local government in this respect.
188. Term of formulae on share of local governments and their revision.– (1) After their approval by the
Government, formulae referred to in section 186 of this Act shall remain in
force for the following four financial years.
(2)
The Finance Commission shall, at least six months
prior to the expiry of enforcement period of a formula referred to in subsection
(1), make recommendation to the Government for establishing a fresh formula.
(3)
In case the recommendation of the Finance Commission
under subsection (2) is not approved by the Government before the expiry of
aforesaid enforcement period, the last approved formula shall continue to
remain in force till such time that a new formula is approved.
189. Principles
for determining provincial allocable amount.– (1). The provincial
allocable amount shall constitute not less than twenty-six per-centum of the
general revenue receipts of the province in the relevant financial year for the
first two financial years following the commencement of this Act and thereafter
constitute not less than twenty-eight per centum of the general revenue receipt
of the province in the relevant financial year
(2) The grant in lieu of Octroi and Zilla
Tax being received by local governments at the commencement of this Act shall
be included in the provincial allocable amount for the purpose of meeting the
minimum threshold fixed at subsection (1).
(3) Where, after the commencement of this
Act, the Government withdraws any local tax, fee, rate, toll, rent or any other
charge of a local government in lieu of an equivalent grant, such grant shall
not be included in the provincial allocable amount but shall be transferred to
the local governments by the Finance Commission in accordance with the
principles set out at section 190 of this Act.
(4) The final value of the provincial
allocable amount shall be worked out on the basis of actual receipts of the
province during a given financial year and any adjustments shall be made
accordingly in that or the following financial year.
190. Principles
for determining transfers to individual local governments and related grants.–
(1). The collective share of
panchayats and neighbourhood councils shall constitute not more than ten per
centum of the provincial allocable amount.
(2) In so far as possible, the share of a
local government in the provincial allocable amount shall be worked out having
regard to the following:–
(a) fiscal needs of the
local government that is moneys required by it to maintain minimum service
standards in relation to the functions assigned to it under this Act;
(b) equalization payments
that is the moneys transferred to the local government to compensate for
comparative poverty and backwardness of the local area;
(c) fiscal capacity that
is the potential of the local government to raise local taxes, toll, fees,
rates and other charges under this Act;
(d) fiscal effort that is
the local government is compensated for collecting higher local taxes, toll,
fees, rates, rents and other charges as against the potential to raise them;
(e) better expenditure
management that is the local government is compensated for adherence to financial
and procurement rules, bringing innovations and transparency in its working and
achieving higher value for money; and
(f) quality of public
services that is the local government is compensated for maintaining higher
quality of public services.
(3) Based on the above, provincial allocable
amount shall be transferred to the local governments through any one or more of
the following means, namely:-
(a)
General purpose transfers worked out on the basis of
principle given at clause (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1); and
(b)
Performance grants worked out on the basis of
principles given at clause (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (1).
Chapter XXIV – Local Government
Accounts and Audit
191. Accounts
of local governments to be kept in the prescribed manner.– Accounts of all receipts
and expenditure of a local government shall be kept in the prescribed manner
and form.
192. Annual
statement of accounts.– (1) The Director Local Fund Audit shall, soon after the close of each
financial year, prepare statement of accounts of every local government in the
Punjab for that financial year and submit it to the respective Chief Officer
and the Government by such date as the Government may from time to time direct.
(2)
The Chief Officer shall submit a copy of the annual
statement of accounts to the head of the local government and convenor for the
consideration of the council at its next practicable meeting.
(3)
Among other things, every statement under subsection
(1) shall include a complete description of the amounts of receipts and
disbursements, respectively credited and debited to the local fund and the
balance at the credit of the said fund at the close of the relevant financial
year.
193. Monthly
abstract of accounts.– (1) The
Director Local Fund Audit shall, not later than a fortnight after
the close of each calendar month, prepare an abstract of all receipts and payments,
respectively credited and debited to the local fund, public fund or any other
fund of all local government in the Punjab during that month and submit a copy
thereof to the respective Chief Officer and the Government.
(2) The Chief Officer shall submit a copy of
the monthly abstract of accounts to the head of the local government and convenor
for the consideration of the council at its next practicable meeting.
194. Authority for audit of local government
accounts.– (1) The Auditor
General of Pakistan shall, on the basis of such audits as he considers
appropriate or necessary, certify the accounts of a local government for each
financial year.
(2) Except where the Government, after
having consulted him on this matter, appoints the Accountant General for this
purpose, the Director Local Fund Audit shall pre-audit all payments from the
local fund of a local government in the prescribed manner and form.
(3) A head of the local government may
appoint an internal auditor in the prescribed manner for assisting and advising
him in adding value to and improving local government operations.
195. Extra-ordinary
audits.– The Government may, at any time, on the basis of
information contained in an annual audit report, or a special audit report, or
for any other reason, direct the Auditor General or an authorized auditor to undertake
an extra-ordinary audit of the accounts of one or more local governments, or of
any aspect of those accounts.
196. Audit
reports.– (1) On completion of every audit of accounts of a local
government under section 194 or 195 of this Act, the Auditor General or the
authorized auditor, shall prepare a report on every material impropriety,
irregularity, loss, misappropriation, waste or misapplication of expenditure or
on the recovery of moneys due to the local government which comes to his notice
during the audit and submit it forthwith to the respective Chief Officer and
the Government.
(2) Nothing
in this section shall prevent the Auditor General or the authorized auditor from
preparing and submitting a report in the like manner before the completion of
audit on any matter which comes to his notice during the course of audit and
requires urgent attention.
197. Consideration
of audit report and duty to remedy defects.– (1) On receipt
of an audit report under section 196 of this Act, the Chief Officer shall
forthwith submit it to the head of the local government and the convenor for
consideration of the council at its next practicable meeting.
(2)
Every local government shall forthwith remedy any
defect or irregularity pointed out in the audit report and forthwith submit a
report on the action taken in this regard to the Government and the Auditor
General.
(3)
In case a local government does not remedy any defect
or irregularity within a reasonable period, the Government may pass such order
as it may deem fit and may also fix a time period within which the local government
shall remedy such defect or irregularity.
(4)
All cases of material impropriety, irregularity, loss,
or misappropriation, waste or misapplication of expenditure or on the recovery
of moneys pointed out in an audit report shall be considered and decided by the
Public Accounts Committee or its sub-committees in the prescribed manner.
198. Authority
of Auditor General to inspect documents etc.– (1) The Auditor General shall,
during the course of audit of a local government under this Act, have the
authority to:-
(a)
access and inspect all books, deeds, contracts, accounts,
vouchers, receipts, maps, plans, documents, or other information, materials or
things as he may reasonably require;
(b)
enter into and inspect, at all reasonable times, any
building, land, premises or structure owned, used, managed or controlled by the
local government; and
(c)
examine, at all reasonable times and after due notice,
the head of the local government, convenor or any councillor, the Chief Officer
or any other officer or servant of the local government.
(2)
It shall be the duty of every head of the local
government, convenor and councillor, Chief Officer and other officers and servants
of the local government or any other person or authority in the Punjab to
afford every facility and cooperation to the Auditor General including
provision of complete information or records or any other assistance as he may
reasonably instruct in relation to the audit of a local government.
199. Punishment
for obstruction etc. in the audit.– (1) Any head of the local
government, convenor, councillor, officer or servant of the local government or
any other person or authority who obstructs or impedes or refuses to comply
with an instruction of the Auditor General under section 198 of this Act shall
be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with
a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or both.
(2)
An offence under this section shall be non-cognizable
within the meaning of section 2(l) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act
V of 1898).
(3)
No court shall take cognizance of an offence under
this section except upon a complaint in writing made by or under the authority
of an officer authorized by the Government in this behalf.
200. Statement
of accounts and audit reports to be made public.– (1) The Chief
Officer shall display at a conspicuous place in the office of the local government
and such other places and manner as the Government may from time to time
direct, a copy of the annual statement of accounts and audit report of accounts
of the local government for public inspection.
(2)
The Chief Officer shall also make available a book for
the record of any objections or suggestions concerning the statement and report
mentioned in subsection (1) and shall also make arrangements so that any
councillor or a resident of the local area or other person interested in the matter
may, at any reasonable time, record his objections or suggestions in that book.
(3)
The Chief Officer shall, at such intervals as the
Government may from time to time direct, bring to the notice of the head of the
local government, the convenor, Auditor General and the Government all
objections or suggestions recorded in the book mentioned in subsection (2).
201. Audit
fees.– (1) The Government may from time to time determine a scale of
fee in respect of audit of accounts of local governments under this Act.
(2)
A local government shall pay to the Government
such amount as fee for audit of its accounts in accordance with scale of fee
determined under subsection (1) above.
PART 5
ACCOUNTABILITY, OVERSIGHT AND
RESPONSIVENESS
Chapter XXV – Internal Controls
202. Power of the council to remove a head of the local government and convenor.– (1)
A head of the local government shall stand
removed from his office if the respective council, through a resolution passed
by three-fourth majority of the councillors for the time being holding office,
decide to remove him on the ground of misconduct within the meanings of section
220 of this Act or if, in their opinion, his removal appears to have become
necessary for effective performance of functions by the local government.
(2) In the like manner, a convenor shall
stand removed from his office if the respective council, through a resolution
passed by simple majority of the councillors for the time being holding office,
decide to remove him on the ground of misconduct within the meanings of section
220 of this Act or if, in their opinion, his removal appears to have become
necessary for effective performance of the functions of the local government.
(3) A council shall not proceed against the head
of the local government or convenor unless a notice to propose a resolution
under this section has been delivered upon the Government, the Chief Officer
and the head of the local government.
(4) Every notice of intent to propose a
resolution under this section shall:
(a)
be signed by at least one-third of the councillors
holding office;
(b)
contain a statement of reasons for the proposed
removal; and
(c)
specify a day for the holding of a special meeting of
the council to consider the proposed removal, being a day, which is not less
than fifteen working days after the day on which the notice is delivered to the
Chief Officer.
(5) On receipt of notice under subsection
(2), the Chief Officer shall forthwith send a copy of the same to every councillor
and shall also display it at a conspicuous place in the office of the local government.
(6) Subsequent to the receipt of the notice,
the convenor shall convene a special meeting of the council on the date
specified in it to consider the proposed removal.
(7) In case the convenor does not take any
steps to convene a special meeting by such day which is five days prior to the
day specified under subsection (3), a notice for the convening of special
meeting shall be issued by the Government.
(8) The head of the local government or the convenor
who is proposed to be removed from office shall have a right to make a
statement of response in relation to the proposal for removal before the
council.
(9) Without prejudice to any other provision
of this Act, where a resolution for the removal of a head of the local
government succeeds, the council shall dissolve immediately and fresh elections
shall be called under section 117 of this Act.
203. Certain
limitations to apply in bringing a resolution for removal of a head of local government
and convenor.– No
resolution for the removal of a head of the local government or convenor shall
be proposed or approved by the council unless a period of twelve months has
elapsed subsequent to the assumption of office by him or where a period of
twelve months is remaining in completion of the term of the council in terms of
section 112 of this Act.
204. Oversight
through committees of the council.– (1) A council may constitute
such committees as it deems appropriate to oversee and report upon the performance
of local government in its various functions and ancillary matters.
(2) Among other things, such committees shall
report upon:
(a) achievement of any
targets set out by the head of the local government or the council;
(b) degree of
responsiveness of the local government to citizens needs; and
(c) access to and quality
of public services delivered by the local government.
(3) Upon consideration of report submitted by a
committee, the council may, through a resolution passed with simple majority of
votes of councillors present and voting, require the head of the local
government to take such action as it considers appropriate to effect
improvement or remedy a defect or irregularity.
(4) During its work, a monitoring committee
shall not intrude or interfere in or control the work of any officer of the
local government.
(5) A member of the monitoring committee
involved in violation of any provision of subsection (4) shall be removed from
the monitoring committee by the respective council.
205. Internal
inspections.– (1) A head of the local government may, through a written
order, require the Chief Officer to conduct inspections to examine and report upon
the performance of the local government either personally or through such other
officer of the local government as the head of the local government considers appropriate.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be
construed to curtail the authority of the head of the local government to
inspect various offices and performance of the local government personally.
206. Internal
inquiries.– The head of the local government may, by an order in writing,
require the Chief Officer to inquire into any matter concerning the local government
either personally or through any other officer of the local government and
submit a report along with the proceedings of the inquiry to him within such
period as he may direct.
Chapter XXVI –Continuous
Supervision of Local Governments
207. Inspectorate of Local Governments.– (1) The Government shall, as
soon as may be but not later than six months of the commencement of this Act,
establish Inspectorate of Local Governments, hereinafter called the
Inspectorate, to inspect, monitor, review and report upon the performance of
local governments in the Punjab.
(2) The Inspectorate shall be headed by an
Inspector General and consist of such number and description of Inspectors and
other staff as the Government may from time to time determine.
208. Yearly
inspections.– (1) The
Inspector General shall, either personally or through any of his Inspectors,
comprehensively inspect all local governments in the Punjab at least once in every
financial year and forthwith report the results of every such inspection to the
Government and the Chief Officer of the local government so inspected.
(2) Every report of the Inspector General under
subsection (1) shall be made in such form and manner as may be prescribed and,
among other things, include his assessment of the quality of public services
provided by the local government against standards specified under section 29
of this Act.
(3) Not more than sixty days after the close of
each financial year, the Government shall lay a consolidated report of all
inspections carried out during that financial year under subsection (1) before
the Provincial Assembly.
209. Special
inspections.– (1) Without
any prejudice to the provisions of section 208 of this Act, the
Government may, at any time, require the Inspector General or any of its other
officers to make an inspection of any office, facility, equipment or store,
service, work or any other thing controlled by or being undertaken by a local government
and report the results of such inspection within such time and in such manner
as directed.
(2) Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed
to prohibit the Inspector General in any manner from making an inspection of
any office, facility, equipment or store, service, work or any other thing
controlled by or being undertaken by the local government at any time, either
personally or through an Inspector, where he deems it appropriate for the
purpose of this Act.
(3) The results of every inspection undertaken
under subsection (2) shall be forthwith reported to the Government, and the
Chief Officer of the local government inspected in such form and manner as may
be prescribed.
210. Powers
of the person inspecting a local government.– (1) For the purpose of making an inspection under this Chapter,
the Inspector General, an Inspector or the officer of the Government referred
to in section 209 of this Act may require the head of the local
government, Chief Officer or any other officer of the local government:-
(a) to call for and
inspect or cause to be inspected files, registers, books or documents in the
possession or under his control or the control of the relevant local government;
(b) to require the
production of such report, return, plan, estimate, statement, accounts,
documents and copies of documents relating to the working of the local government
as he may deem fit;
(c) to attend the meetings
of the local government and to take part in discussions and other proceedings
without having a right to vote;
(d) to enter, inspect and
survey or cause to be entered or inspected and surveyed any property owned,
managed or controlled by a local government or any facility maintained by or
any work in progress under the directions of a local government; and
(e) to inquire generally
into the affairs of the local government.
(2) For the aforesaid purpose, the Inspector
General, Inspector or the officer of the Government referred to in section 207
of this Act may also inspect the condition of any part of the concerned local
area.
211. Local
governments to take action on inspection report.– (1) Immediately upon receipt of an inspection
report under section 208 or 209 of this Act, the Chief Officer shall,
submit a copy thereof to the head of the local government.
(2) The head of the local government shall take
such action on the inspection report as may be required.
(3) Within thirty days of the receipt of an
inspection report, a local government shall annotate the inspection report and
forward it to the Government and the Inspector General or, as the case may be,
the officer of the Government referred to in section 209 of this Act who may
issue such further directions and advise to the local government as may be necessary.
(4) In case of any dispute or difference of
opinion between the local government and the Inspector General or the officer
of the Government referred to in section 209 of this Act on a particular matter
relating to the inspection report, any of them may refer the matter to the
Government and the decision of the Government on that issue shall be final.
Chapter XXVII –
Responsiveness to Citizens Needs
212. Duties
of local governments towards residents of local area.– (1) Subject
to the provisions of this Act, every local government shall be responsible to
the residents for the due discharge of its functions.
(2) A local government shall take every measure
within its means to consult with and promote effective participation by the
residents in its affairs.
(3) The Government may, by an order published
in the official gazette, determine duties of the local governments with respect
to publication of information on their working, requirement of advance notices
and holding of consultative hearing before making such decisions or undertaking
such work as the Government considers appropriate.
(4) Every head shall invite all residents of
the respective local area to a general meeting convened on biannual basis to
inform them generally on the performance of local government including
achievement made against local and annual development plans as mentioned in
section 251of this Act and solicit their views and suggestion for improvement,
and record their concerns, interests and priorities in relation to the functions
and duties of the local government.
213. Requirement
to consult residents in certain cases.– Without any prejudice to the provisions
of section 212 of this Act, a local government shall provide advance public
notice and hold consultative hearing:-
(a) in relation to the
approval of estimate of receipts and expenditures under section 131 of this Act;
(b) in relation to
imposition of a new tax, toll, fees, rate or any other charge, or revision of
an existing tax, toll, fees, rate or any other charge in the manner given under
section 156 of this Act; and
(c) for the drawing or
adoption of a land use plan or revision of an existing land use plan under
section 259 of this Act.
214. Community
initiatives.– (1) Every local government shall allocate a portion of its funds, being
not less than five per centum of the total expenditures to be incurred by it in
a particular financial year on construction works, to support such activities
which are proposed by the residents and implemented by them directly through a
Neighbourhood Council in case of an urban local government and a Panchayat in
case of a Tehsil Council.
(2) In each financial year, sufficiently before
the preparation of annual budget, every local government shall invite proposals
for activities referred to in subsection (1) above by a fixed date and approve,
in order of priority, such number of activities as it can support within the
available allocated funds.
(3) No activity shall be approved as aforesaid
unless:
(a) the activity, in view
of the Chief Officer, relates to the functions assigned to the local government
under this Act and is expected to benefit the residents at large by
provisioning of a new work, amenity or facility or improvement of an existing
work, amenity or facility;
(b) the cost of the
proposed activity is realistic and determined in the prescribed manner; and
(c) the residents likely
to benefit from the proposed activity have deposited not less than twenty per
centum of its cost with the local government.
(4) A local government may enter into agreement
with the residents likely to benefit from the activity as regards the
application of cost or arrangements for the maintenance and operation of
amenities or facilities provided or improved through such activity.
Chapter XXVIII – Transparency
215. General rules of
conduct.– (1) While
performing any duty or exercising any power under this Act, it shall be the
duty of every head of the local government, convenor, councillor, Chief
Officer, officer and servant of the local government to:
(a)
act honestly and
in a fair and transparent manner;
(b)
exercise due
care and diligence; and
(c)
not to make
improper use of his office or information acquired by him because of his being
in such office to gain or attempt to gain, directly or indirectly, an advantage
for himself or for any other person; or cause or attempt to cause, any
detriment to the local government;
(2) A person
who knowingly acts in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) shall
be guilty of an offence under section 287 of this Act and if he is a head of
the local government, convenor or councillor, he shall, in addition to such punishment,
may also be disqualified and removed
from his office under section 232 of this Act.
216. Conflict
of interest.– (1) For the purpose of this Chapter, a head of the
local government, convenor, councillor, officer or servant of the local
government or any other person shall be deemed to have a conflict of interest
in respect of a contract, proposed contract or any other matter to be discussed
or decided by that local government, council or any of its committee or
sub-committee, as the case may be, of which he is a member, if:-
(a)
he himself or any of his immediate relatives, or his
employer or employee in relation to that contract, proposed contract or any
other matter:-
(i)
would receive or have a reasonable expectation of
receiving, a direct or indirect pecuniary or some other benefit, share or
interest; or
(ii)
would suffer or have a reasonable expectation of
suffering, a direct or indirect pecuniary or some other detriment; or
(iii)
could be reasonably perceived as receiving a direct or
indirect pecuniary or some other benefit, share or interest or suffering a
direct or indirect pecuniary or some other detriment; or
(b)
he has professionally acted in relation to that
contract, proposed contract or any other matter on behalf of any person having
therein such share or interest as aforesaid; or
(c)
he is of the opinion or could be reasonably perceived
to have such opinion that the nature of his interest in the contract, proposed
contract or other matter is such that it may conflict with the proper
performance of his public duties in respect of that contract, proposed contract
or other matter.
(2) No person shall be deemed to have a
conflict of interest in a contract, proposed contract or any other matter for
the purposes of this section if his interest arises solely due to his being a
voter, local resident or tax payer to the local government and is held in
common with other voters, local residents and tax payers.
217. Duty
to abstain from proceedings in case of conflict of interest.– (1) When any
contract, proposed contract or any other matter is to be, or is likely to be
considered or discussed at a meeting of a local government, council or any of
its committee or sub-committee, the head of the local government, convenor, councillor,
officer or servant of that local government or any other relevant person, who
has a conflict of interest within the meaning of section 216 of this Act in
respect of such contract, proposed contract or any other matter must:-
(a) if he is present at
the meeting, forthwith disclose the nature of his conflict of interest and
leave the meeting after notifying the convenor or the person presiding the
meeting or the chairperson of the committee or sub-committee, as the case may;
(b) if he has a prior
knowledge of the consideration or discussion as aforesaid, disclose the nature
of his conflict of interest to the convenor or the chairperson of the committee
or sub-committee as the case may be and abstain from the meeting.
[66][(2) A person who has a conflict
of interest as defined under section 216 of this Act shall not preside over,
take part in the proceedings or vote on
any question with respect to the contract, proposed contract or any other
matter in respect of which his conflict of interest exists.]
218. Register
of interests.– (1) Every Chief Officer shall maintain a register of
interests in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
(2) It shall be duty of every head of the local
government, convenor, councillor, officer and servant of the local government
who has a conflict of interest to submit returns on his conflict of interest to
the Chief Officer for making entries in the register of interests at such
intervals and in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
(3) The Chief Officer shall, on a written
application, allow a person to inspect the register of interests at the office
of the local government during usual office hours.
219. Code
of Conduct for councillors, officers etc.– (1) As soon as may be,
but not later than six months of the commencement of this Act, the Government
shall prescribe a Code of Conduct for the heads of the local governments, convenors,
councillors, officers and servants of the local government.
(2) In addition to any other matter considered
appropriate by the Government, the Code of Conduct shall address the following
matters, namely:-
(a) standards for ethical
conduct of the head of the local government, convenor, councillors, officers
and servants of the local government;
(b) procedures for
resolution of disputes between the councillors; and
(c) procedure for dealing
or interacting with Chief Officer, officers and servants of the local
government and officers and servants of the Government.
(3) The Chief Officer shall cause a copy of the
Code of Conduct to be made available to the public for inspection at the office
of the local government during usual office hours.
220. Misconduct.– For the purpose of
this Act, a head of the local government, convenor, councillor, officer or
servant of the local government or any other person shall be guilty of misconduct
if he:
(a) violates
any provision of code of conduct prescribed under section 219 of this Act;
(b) derelicts
from duty or shows gross negligence in performance of duties with manifest
wrongful intent;
(c) knowingly
violates any provision of this Act or lawful directions or orders of the
government;
(d) involves
in an act that results in wrongful gain to himself or to any other person;
(e) exercises
powers or authority vested in him under this Act or any other law for the time
being in force or fails to or refuses to exercise such powers or authority, for
corrupt, unlawful or improper motives; and
(f) attempts
at, or abets any act which constitutes misconduct under this section.
221. Certain orders to be in writing or to be reduced to writing.–
(1) A head of the local government, convenor, committee or sub-committee of the
council, and all officers and servants of the local government shall act
through or under a written order, if:-
(a) this
Act or any other law for the time being in force requires that the act shall be
done through a written order;
(b) the
act pertains to exercise of any authority under this Act or any other law for
the time being in force;
(c) the
act is, in view of the head of the local government or the Chief Officer, of
sufficient importance; and
(d) it has been required as
such by the Government for the purposes of this section.
(2) A verbal instruction which in view of the officer
or servant of the local government receiving it:
(a) requires a written
order in terms of subsection (1) above, shall be referred back by him to the
authority giving such instruction for obtaining a written order;
(b) is lawful and
otherwise appropriate and requires an immediate action, shall be acted upon and
thereafter reduced to writing and submitted by him to the authority giving such
instruction for confirmation;
(c) is unlawful or
otherwise inappropriate, shall forthwith be reduced in writing and submitted by
him to the authority giving such instruction with the reasons for considering
the instruction unlawful or, as the case may be, inappropriate; or
(d) is lawful and
otherwise appropriate but does not require an immediate action, shall be
reduced in writing and submitted by him to the authority giving such
instruction for approval before acting upon.
222. All orders of local government to be open to inspection.– (1)
The Chief Officer shall maintain a register of all orders made by the head
of the local government, convenor, council or any of its committee or
sub-committee, an officer or servant of the local government in such form and
manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The Chief Officer shall cause the register
mentioned in subsection (1) to be available for public inspection at the office
of the local government during usual office hours and shall, in addition, also
cause it to be available for inspection by any councillor throughout the
duration of every meeting of the council.
Chapter XXIX – Oversight by the
Government
223. Supervision
of local governments.– The
Government shall, in the prescribed manner, exercise supervision and general
control over the local governments to ensure that they always act in the public
interest and perform their functions strictly in accordance with the provisions
of this Act and all other relevant laws for the time being in force.
224. Calling in question the legality of an order etc. of local government.–
(1) Any of the following persons may, through a complaint in writing, call into
question the legality of any resolution, bye-law, decision or order of a local government,
namely:-
(a) the
head of that local government;
(b) the
Chief Officer of that local government or any other officer or servant of that
local government to whom such order is directed;
(c) a
resident of the relevant local area or any other person affected by that act or
order; and
(d) any
officer nominated for this purpose by the Government.
(2) Every complaint under this section may be
made to the Government.
225. Right
of certain government officers to attend local government meetings etc.–
The Minister, Secretary or any other officer authorized by the Government in
this behalf shall have the right to attend, speak in and otherwise take part in
the proceedings of every meeting of a local government or a council or any
committee or sub-committee of the council, but shall not be entitled to vote at
any such meeting.
226. Power
to call for information.– (1) The Government may, through a general
or specific order, require a Chief Officer to provide to it by such time or at
such intervals as is specified in the order:
(a) any record pertaining
to the proceedings of the council, a committee or sub-committee of the council
or any other meeting of the local government;
(b) a resolution of the
council or any record pertaining to such resolution;
(c) a bye-law promulgated
by the local government or any record pertaining to such bye-law;
(d) an order or
instruction of the head of the local government, convenor, councillor, or any
officer or servant of the local government and record pertaining to such order
or instruction;
(e) a document, return,
statement, estimate, statistics or other information regarding any matter
pertaining to or under the control of the local government;
(f) a report on any matter
pertaining to or under the control of a local government; and
(g) a copy of a document
in his charge or under the control of a local government.
(2) It shall be duty of the head of the local
government, convenor, every councillor, officer and servant of the local
government to provide such information, documents and record to the Chief
Officer as he may require and otherwise assist him for the purposes of this
section.
227. Power of the Government to inquire into
complaints.– (1) The Government
may, on receipt of a complaint or otherwise, cause an enquiry to be made by the
Inspector General or such other officer as it deems appropriate, into the
affairs of a local government generally or into any particular matter
concerning the local government and submit findings within such time as it may
direct, and subject to directions, take such remedial measures as may be
warranted by the findings of such inquiry.
(2) A person appointed for an inquiry under
subsection (1) shall, for the purpose of inquiry, have the powers of a Court
under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) to take evidence and to
compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents.
(3) A person appointed for an inquiry under
subsection (1) may, while concluding the inquiry, also make an order in respect
of the cost of inquiry and whether it shall be paid by the local government or
the person on whose complaint the inquiry was conducted.
(4) Any amount payable by the complainant under
subsection (3) shall be recoverable as arrear of land revenue.
228. Power of the Government to suspend
certain resolutions or orders and prohibit certain actions of local government.–
(1) The Government may, by a written order, suspend a resolution or order
of a local government or prohibit doing of anything or any act which is
intended to be done or being done by or on behalf of a local government, if in
the opinion of the Government such resolution or order or the doing of such act
or thing:-
(a) is not in conformity
with this Act or with the rules or bye-laws made thereunder or any other law
for the time being in force;
(b) is prejudicial to the public
interest;
(c) is likely to cause
waste or damage of local fund, public fund or any other fund of the local
government; or
(d) is likely to lead to a
breach of peace or to cause injury or annoyance to the public or any class or
body of person.
(2) A copy of every order under subsection
(1) shall be sent to the respective head of the local government who shall
consider the matter afresh.
(3) The local government shall, after taking
the matter into consideration, pass a resolution and send a copy thereof together
with a copy of the proceedings relating to that resolution to the Government.
(4) The Government may, after having
considered the resolution passed by the local government under subsection (3)
and the proceedings related to that resolution, either cancel, modify or
confirm the order passed by it under subsection (1) or take such other action
in respect of the matter as may, in its opinion, be just or expedient having
regards to the circumstances of the case.
(5) Any resolution or order passed by a local
government or any act or thing done or intended to be done by a local government
which is revoked or prohibited by the Government shall cease to have effect
from the date of such revocation or prohibition.
(6) Any resolution or order
passed by a local government or any act or thing doing of which is suspended by
the Government under this Act shall not have effect till such time it remains
suspended.
229. Power
of the Government to require a local government to take action.– (1) The Government shall require a
local government to take one or more actions given at subsection (2) below if,
on the basis of any inspection under section 208 or 209 of this Act or any information
received under section 226 of this Act, or of any findings of an inquiry under
section 227 of this Act, or otherwise, it considers that:-
(a) any duty imposed or
function assigned to the local government by or under this Act or by or under
any other law for the time being in force has not been undertaken or has been
undertaken in an imperfect, inefficient or unsuitable manner;
(b) the local government
has failed to comply with any directions issued by the Government under this
Act or any other law for the time being in force or to take such measures in
any matter as appear to the Government to be required by the circumstances of
the case or;
(c) the local government
has consistently failed, or has proven inefficient or otherwise incompetent to
collect a tax, toll, fees, rate or any other charge or money receivable by it
under this Act; or
(d) the local government
has failed, or has proven inefficient or otherwise incompetent to administer or
apply any of its funds or properties in the best interest of the residents;
(2) Where it considers that one or more
circumstance as mentioned in subsection (1) exist, the Government shall, by a
written order, direct the head of the local government to show cause within
such period as may be specified in the order, and:-
(a)
make arrangements to the satisfaction of the
Government for proper discharge of duties or functions referred to in clause
(a) above;
(b)
comply with the directions or to take measures
referred to in clause (b) of subsection (1); or
(c)
take such measures or make such arrangements as may be
specified by the Government in any matter referred to in clauses (c) and (d) of
subsection (1).
230. Procedure
where head of the local government fails to show cause or to take action on
directions of the Government.– (1)
If within the period specified in an order under section 229 of this
Act, any measure or arrangement directed thereunder has not been duly taken or
made, or cause has not been shown as aforesaid, the Government may, by a
written order:-
(a) withhold transfer of
all moneys or such portion of moneys receivable by that local government from
the provincial allocable amount as it deems appropriate till such time as the
measures or arrangements directed are duly taken or made; or
(b) impose a fine on the
local government not exceeding two per centum of the moneys receivable by the
local government from the provincial allocable amount during the relevant
financial year;
(2) The Government may, in addition to
imposing any sanction on the local government under subsection (1) above, also
proceed to remove the head of the local government, convenor or a councillor,
as the case may be, from office for not duly undertaking any measure or not
making arrangement as aforesaid despite directions under section 229 of this
Act in accordance with the provisions of section 232 of this Act.
231. Power
of the Government to take action on its own.– (1) Where, in view of the circumstances of the local government
or the immediate nature of the arrangement or measure, Government is of the
opinion that the arrangements or measures mentioned in section 229 of this Act shall
be made or taken by the Government itself, it may, by an order, direct the head
of the local government to show cause against making of such arrangements or
taking of such measures by the Government within a specified period.
(2) Where the head of the local government
fails to show cause within the period specified under subsection (1) or the
cause shown by him, in the opinion of the Government, is unsatisfactory, the
Government may by an order appoint one or more of its officers to take the
action so directed.
(3) An officer appointed under subsection
(2) may for the purpose of taking the action directed, exercise all powers and
authority conferred upon the local government or an officer of the local government
by or under this Act which are specified in that behalf in the order issued
under subsection (2).
(4) The powers and authority of the officer
referred to in subsection (2) shall supersede the powers and authority of the
local government, council or an officer of the local government to such extent
as may be necessary for taking the directed action.
232. Power of the Government to suspend or remove a head of the local government, convenor
or councillor.– (1) Where,
in view of the appertaining circumstances, the Government is of the opinion
that a head of the local government, convenor or councillor is involved in one
or more derelictions as listed in the Twelfth Schedule, the Government shall
through an order direct him to show cause within a specified period as to why
proceedings for his removal from office, shall not be initiated.
(2) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor referred to in
subsection (1) fails to show cause within the specified period or the cause
shown by him is, in the opinion of the Government, unsatisfactory, the
Government may make a reference
to the Commission to inquire as to whether he is guilty of such dereliction or
derelictions and recommend as to whether he shall be removed from office on
that account.
(3) Where,
as a result of an inquiry under subsection (2) above, the Commission arrives at
[67][a conclusion] that
the head of the local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor has
been guilty of one or more derelictions and shall be removed from office, the
Government shall, by an order published in the official gazette, remove him
from office.
(4) Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (2), where a head of the local government, convenor or
councillor is involved in a dereliction relating to corruption or a corrupt
practice, or gross excess in use of his authority, or conviction in a crime
involving moral turpitude, and fails to show cause within the specified period or
the cause shown by him under subsection (1) is, in the opinion of the
Government, unsatisfactory, the Government may suspend him forthwith without
waiting for an inquiry by the Commission.
(5) The Government shall forthwith reinstate
a head of the local government, convenor, or councillor suspended under
subsection (4) if he is found to have not been involved in a dereliction after
an inquiry under subsection (2).
233. Suspension or dissolution of a local government.— (1) Without any prejudice to other provisions of
this Act, where, in view of the appertaining circumstances, the Government is
of the opinion that for one or more reasons listed at the Thirteenth Schedule,
a local government may be suspended, the Government shall, through an order
direct the respective head of the local government to show cause within a
specified period as to why proceedings for suspension of the local government
shall not be initiated.
(2) Where the head of the
local government fails to show cause within the specified period or the cause
shown by him is, in the opinion of the Government, unsatisfactory, the
Government may make a
reference to the Commission for an inquiry as to whether such reason or reasons
exist and the local government shall be suspended.
(3) Where,
as a result of an inquiry under subsection (2), the Commission views that one
or more reasons listed in the Thirteenth Schedule exist and the local
government may be suspended, the Government shall, by an order published in the
official gazette, suspend it for a specified period, which shall in no
circumstances exceed one calendar year.
(4) Where, the local government referred to in subsection
(1) was previously suspended under subsection (3) and one or more reasons for
which it was suspended arise again, the Government may make a reference to the
Commission for an inquiry as to whether such reason or reasons exist and the
local government shall be dissolved.
(5) Where,
as a result of an inquiry under subsection (4), the Commission arrives at [68][a conclusion] that
a council shall be dissolved, the Government may, by an order published in the
official gazette, dissolve that council.
234. Effect of suspension or dissolution of a
local government.– (1) Without any
prejudice to other provisions of this Act, consequent to an order under subsection (5) of section 233 of
this Act:-
(a) the head of the local
government, convenor and councillors of the suspended or dissolved local
government shall cease to hold office forthwith;
(b) all powers, duties and
functions of the local government shall be exercised and performed by such of its
officer or authority as the Government may appoint in this behalf; and
(c) all funds and
properties vested in the local government shall [69][*] vest in the officer or authority referred
to in clause (b) above as a trust for the purpose of this Act.
(2) Without any prejudice to other
provisions of this Act, consequent to an order under subsection (3) of section
233 of this Act:-
(a)
all councillors, including the head of the local
government and the convenor, shall stand suspended forthwith;
(b)
all powers, duties and functions of the local
government shall, during the period of suspension, be exercised and performed
by such of its officer or authority [70][as the Government may] appoint in this
behalf; and
(c)
all funds and properties vested in the local
government shall, during the period of suspension, vest in the officer or
authority referred to in clause (b) above as a trust for the purpose of this
Act.
(3) Where, at the time of dissolution, the
remaining term in office of the council is in excess of one hundred and twenty
days, the Election Commission shall order fresh elections in the respective
local area in terms of section 83 of this Act, so far as possible, and if, at
the time of such dissolution, the remaining term in office of the council is
less than one hundred and twenty days, the officer or authority referred to in
clause (b) of subsection (2) above shall continue to exercise powers and
perform duties and functions of the local government and its funds and
properties shall continue to vest in him till an elected council resumes office.
235. Reinstatement
of suspended council.– A local
government shall stand reinstated into office immediately after the expiry
of period of suspension specified under subsection (3) of section 233 of this
Act.
236. Bar
of suits and impact of suspension of resolution etc.– Without any prejudice to the provisions of
section 308 of this Act, no suit or other legal proceedings shall lie
against the Government or any of its officer or authority, or any other person for
any loss or damage of any kind caused by:
(a)
suspension, revocation or modification of a resolution
of the council or order of a local government;
(b)
prohibition by the
Government of doing of anything or any act by a local government or any person
on its behalf;
(c)
suspension or removal from office of a head of the
local government, convenor or councillor; and
(d)
suspension or dissolution of any local government.
PART 6
COORDINATION AND CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT
Chapter XXX – Punjab Local
Government Commission
237. Establishment
of Punjab Local Government Commission.– As soon as may be, but not later
than six months of the commencement of this Act, the Government shall constitute
Punjab Local Government Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission,
to perform such functions as are conferred upon it by or under this Act.
238. Chairperson
and members of the Commission.– (1) The Commission shall comprise of
eleven members including the Chairperson as under:
(a)
The Minister in charge of Local Government Department,
who shall also be the Chairperson of the Commission;
(b)
Four members of the Provincial Assembly, of whom two
shall be appointed by the leader of the house and the other two by the leader of
the opposition in the Punjab;
(c)
The Secretary in charge of Local Government and
Community Development Department, who shall also be the Secretary of the
Commission;
(d)
The Secretary in charge of Law and Parliamentary
Affairs Department;
(e)
Four expert members, including one woman, appointed in
terms of section 241 of this Act.
(2)
In the case of absence of the Minister for any reason,
the members shall elect one of the members present at the meeting to be the
Chairperson for the duration of his absence.
(3)
The Commission may co-opt any other person for advice
in relation to a particular matter under its consideration; however, the
co-opted members shall have no right of vote.
(4)
No proceedings or act of the Commission shall be
invalid merely on the ground of existence of a vacancy or defect in composition
of the Commission.
(5)
The members of the Commission shall be paid such
remuneration as the Government may, from time to time, determine and the
remuneration of a member shall not be varied to his disadvantage during his
term in office.
239. Term
of office and premature removal of certain members.– (1) The
Minister and Secretaries referred to in section 238 shall hold office on
ex-officio basis.
(2) A member of the Commission, not being
the Minister or a Secretary referred to in section 238 of this Act shall hold
office for four years and may, at any time, resign from office under his hand
(3) The Government may,
after due notice and inquiry, remove any member of the Commission, not being
the Minister or a Secretary referred to in section 238 of this Act, during the
tenure of his office on the grounds of inefficiency, misconduct, misuse of
office or inability to perform functions due to bad health or physical or
mental incapacity.
(4) A person, not being the
Minister or a Secretary referred to in section 238 of this Act, shall not be
eligible for appointment as a member of the Commission if he has previously
been removed from his office under subsection (3).
240. Casual
vacancies.– (1) Where the position of a member, not being the
Minister or a Secretary to the Government of the Punjab, becomes vacant on account of his resignation, removal, death or for any
other cause, the Government shall appoint a person to fill this vacancy in the
same manner as was applicable for the selection of that member.
(2) A
person appointed under subsection (1) shall hold office for the remainder of
the term of office of the member whom he replaces.
241. Eligibility
for appointment of expert members.– (1) A person shall be eligible for appointment as an expert member under
section 238 of this Act, only if:
(a) he holds at
least sixteen years education in a discipline related to one or more functions
of the Commission, possesses special knowledge of local government and their
work with at least twenty-year experience in public administration, dispensation
of justice, community development or any other related affair;
(b) he is, for
the time being, qualified to be a candidate for an election under section 109
of this Act;
(c) he is not in
the service of Pakistan or any office or body which is set up, or owned or
controlled by the Government, or a local government in the Punjab, or in which
the Government or a local government has a controlling share or interest or
otherwise holds any office of profit in the Government; or
(d) he is not a
member of a political party or holds any office of a political party or is in
the employment of a political party or on the date of his consideration for
appointment at least five years have not lapsed since he ceased to be such
member, or holder of such office or in such employment.
(2) A person who has previously remained as
an expert member shall be eligible for re-appointment as a member of the
Commission.
242. Certain
restrictions to apply on subsequent employment of an expert member.– A
person who has remained as a member of the Commission as an expert member under
section 238 of this Act shall not be eligible for appointment in the service of
Pakistan or any statutory body or other body which is set up, or owned or
controlled by the Government or a local government in the Punjab, or in which
the Government or a local government has a controlling share or interest or
otherwise hold any office of profit in the Government unless a period of two
years has elapsed since the date of relinquishment of his office as member.
243. Oath
of office of members of the Commission.– Before entering upon office, every
member of the Commission shall make an oath in the form set out in the Fourteenth
Schedule.
244. Functions
of the Commission and duty of the government to have regards to their reports.–
(1) Without any prejudice to other provision of this Act, the Commission
shall carry out following functions, namely:-
(a) review and alteration
of boundaries of local areas under sections 11 and 12 of this Act;
(b) resolution of disputes
between one or more local governments or between one or more local governments
and the Government;
(c) enquiries into any
matter referred to it by the Government, or such other matters concerning a
local government as are required under this Act or considered important by the
Commission;
(d) coordination on key
issues referred to it by the Government; and
(e) advise the Government
on general aspects concerning local governments and on any particular aspect concerning
one or more local governments, if so requested by the Government, the head of
the local government or the Chief Officer; and
(f) submission of an
annual report on various aspects of the performance of local governments in the
Punjab in such form as agreed with the Government.
(2) The Government shall, during the
exercise of its powers under this Act, have regards to the reports of the
Commission submitted in relation to the matters mentioned under subsection (1).
245. Certain powers of a court to vest upon the Commission.– [71][The Commission] shall, for the purpose summoning and enforcing
attendance of persons and examining them on oath, compelling the production of
documents, receiving evidence on affidavits and appointment of commissions for
record of evidence under this Act, have all the powers of a civil court trying
a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) and shall be
deemed to be a Court within the meaning of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898).
246. Procedure
of the Commission.– (1) The Commission shall, subject to this Act
and the rules, regulate its own procedure.
(2)
All decisions of the Commission shall be made through
a simple majority vote of the members present and voting.
(3)
All meetings of the Commission shall be open to public,
unless the members s present thereat, by a simple majority of vote, consider
that public information of the proceedings of the meeting shall be prejudicial
to public interest by reason of confidential nature of business to be
transacted at the meeting.
247. Duty
of the Government, local governments etc. to cooperate with the Commission.–
(1) The Commission may require the Government, a local government, or any
person, office or authority in the Punjab to render such assistance or to make
available such information or records which it reasonably requires for the
purposes of this Act.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Government,
every local government, person, office or authority in the Punjab to render
assistance or to make available such information or record as is required by
the Commission under sub-section (1).
248. Secretariat
of the Commission.– (1) The
Commission shall have a secretariat comprising such number of officers and
staff as the Government may from time to time determine.
(2) There
shall be a separate budget for the Commission in the annual budget of the
Punjab.
(3) The
secretariat of the Commission shall be headed by the Secretary who shall also
be the Principal Accounting Officer of the Commission.
Chapter XXXI – Coordination and Dispute
Management
249. Inter-agency coordination.– (1) A
Deputy Commissioner shall, in relation to the district under his charge:-
(a)
coordinate the work of all local governments as well
as such work of one or more local governments which relates to or affects the
work of one or more provincial or federal agencies in the district;
(b)
notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
coordinate the work of a local government and any agency responsible for the
provision of sanitation, water supply, sewerage collection and disposal and
similar other services in a cantonment adjoining such local government;
(c)
prioritize works of similar nature being undertaken by
the Government or one or more local governments in the district; and
(d)
take measures to prevent disputes among local government
in the district.
(2)
For the purpose of this section, the Deputy
Commissioner may, in addition to any other authority conferred upon him under
this Act or any other law for the time being in force, issue such directions to
a local government as he considers appropriate.
(3)
Every local government shall generally assist and
cooperate with the Deputy Commissioner and abide by any direction issued under
subsection (2).
(4)
Where a direction of the Deputy Commissioner under
subsection (2) is, in the opinion of the head of the local government, unfair
or unreasonable, he may make a reference to the Government.
(5)
The Government may, after having considered the
reference and the related circumstances, either cancel, modify or confirm the direction
of the Deputy Commissioner or take such other action in respect of the matter
as may, in the opinion of the Government, be just or expedient having regards
to the circumstances of the case.
250. Resolution
of disputes.– (1) A head of the local government may make a
reference to the Deputy Commissioner of the respective district to take
cognizance of and redress a dispute or grievance which exists between that
local government and one or more other local governments or one or more
provincial or federal agencies working in the district.
(2) The Deputy Commissioner may, after due
notice and without unnecessary delay, decide the reference received under subsection
(1).
(3) Where a local government or provincial
or federal agency is not satisfied with the decision of the Deputy
Commissioner, that local government or agency shall make a reference to the Government.
(4) The Government may, after due notice and
inquiry, decide the reference without unnecessary delay and such decision shall
be final to that extent.
Chapter XXXII – Planning, Development
and Land Use
251. Local development plan.– (1) Within six months of the assumption of office, every head of the
local government shall prepare a plan for the development of respective local
area in relation to the functions of the local government under this Act during
the next four years, to be called the local development plan.
(2)
A local
development plan shall be prepared in such form and manner as the Government
may by an order specify and, among other things, include:
(a) objectives
of the local government with respect to development of local area;
(b) strategies
for achievement of these objectives and indicators for monitoring such achievement;
and
(c) resource
plan describing financial and other resources required for the attainment of stated
objectives and how such resources will become available to the local government.
(3)
In the like manner, sufficiently
before the commencement of a financial year, every head of the local government
shall prepare a draft plan of construction or other works and activities by or
on behalf of the local government to be carried out during that financial year,
called the draft annual development plan.
(4)
Every draft annual development plan
prepared under subsection (3) shall be aligned to and contribute towards the
objectives of the local development plan.
252. Initiation
of proposals for new works etc.– (1) For the purpose of drawing up an
annual development plan, the head of the local government shall call for
proposals for carrying out of construction or other works or activity by or on
behalf of a local government.
(2) A proposal under subsection (1) may be
initiated by any one or more of the following, namely:-
(a)
a councillor;
(b)
the convenor;
(c)
the Chief Officer;
(d)
the council through a resolution;
(e)
a resident of the local area;
(f)
a Panchayat or Neighbourhood Council located in the
relevant local area; and
(g)
by or under the authority of the Government.
(3) Every proposal under subsection (1)
shall be drawn in the prescribed form and made to the Chief Officer of the
relevant local government by such dates as may be specified by the head of the
local government.
(4) The provisions of this section shall not
apply to any construction or other work or activity by or on behalf of a local
government for the maintenance, repair or renewing of any of its existing
facility or amenity, the value of which does not exceed such amounts as the
Government may, from time to time, specify.
253. Approval
of annual development plan.– (1) The head of the local government shall
present the draft annual development plan before the council at a public
meeting.
(2) The council may, with a simple majority
of vote of all councillors holding office:
(a) revise
the draft annual development plan; or
(b) approve
the draft annual development plan.
(3) Where in the view of the head of the
local government, revision of the draft annual development plan by council is
not in accordance with the provisions of this Act or is otherwise
inappropriate, he may, again present the draft annual development plan, with or
without any revision, before the council, and after due consideration, the
council may:
(a) approve
it with a simple majority of vote of all councillors holding office; or
(b) revise
or reject it with a two-third majority of vote of all councillors holding
office.
(4) Without any prejudice to other
provisions of this section, the annual development plan presented by the head
of the local government under subsection (3) which is not rejected or revised
by the council with two-third majority, should be deemed to have been approved.
254. Government
to certify annual development plan if not approved by a local government.–
(1) In case where annual development plan of a local government is not approved
under section 253 of this Act within thirty days of the commencement of the
financial year to which it pertains, the Government may, after due notice to
the relevant head of the local government and having regards to the needs of
that local area, cause such annual development plan to be prepared on its own
and may also certify it.
(2) The annual development plan certified
under subsection (1) shall be deemed to be the approved annual development plan
of the local government for that financial year.
255. Evaluation
and approval of proposals for new works etc.– (1) No construction or other work or activity by on behalf of a local
government shall be undertaken unless it is included in the annual development
plan and is approved by the Local Planning Board of the relevant district
constituted under section 257 of this Act.
(2) No construction or other work or
activity shall be approved by the Local Planning Board unless it satisfies the
relevant planning guideline specified under section 256 of this Act.
256. Planning
guidelines.– (1) As soon as
may be, but not later than six months of the commencement of this Act, the
Government shall by an order notified in the official gazette, specify planning
guidelines for approval of construction or other works or activity by or on
behalf of local government.
(2)
Every planning guideline
shall, among other things:
(a) set out the value, size or type of work or other activity which may be
undertaken by various local governments;
(b) set out criteria to be applied for deciding actual need for a particular
work or activity on the basis of its sustainability, cost-effectiveness and
likely economic and social returns;
(c) identify one or more undertakers as appropriate persons to carry out a
specified description of work; and
(d) set out circumstances in which it is appropriate for a specified type of
action to be taken to mitigate the impact of a specified description of work.
(3)
Every order under subsection
(1) shall remain applicable for three financial years following the date of its
commencement unless it is otherwise amended or replaced by the Government.
257. Local
Planning Board.– (1) As soon
as may be but not later than six months after the commencement of this Act, the
Government shall establish a Local Planning Board for each district in
the Punjab to:
(a)
ensure that all construction
or other works or activity by or on behalf of all local government in the
district are in compliance with the planning guidelines ordered under section 256
of this Act; and
(b)
undertake technical
evaluations and approve every proposal for undertaking construction or other
works or activity by or on behalf of local government.
(2)
A Local Planning Board shall
comprise of not less than five
members including the Chief Officer of the relevant local government and at
least one qualified engineer having appropriate experience in planning and
undertaking construction or other work of the particular description under
consideration.
(3)
All decisions of the Local Planning Board shall be
taken by majority vote of the members present and voting on basis of one member
one vote.
(4)
The Local Planning Board may co-opt any other person
for advice in relation to a particular matter under its consideration; however,
the co-opted members shall have no right of vote.
(5)
No proceedings or act of the Local Planning Board
shall be invalid merely on the ground of existence of a vacancy or defect in its
composition.
258. Duty of every local government to maintain public
service infrastructure maps.– It shall be the duty of every local
government to prepare and maintain detailed maps of the infrastructure relating
to public services provided by it under this Act or any other law for the time
being in force and from time to time modify and update such maps.
259. Land
use planning and land use permissions.– (1) Each local government shall, within such period as may
be specified by the Government, draw or cause to be drawn a land use plan
indicating actual land use and the proposed land use.
(2) Every land use plan shall:
(a) clearly identify the
extent of existing planned areas;
(b) designate the
remaining areas as non-planned areas; and
(c) identify the land use
in both planned and non-planned areas.
(3) A land use plan shall be approved in the
manner provided under the relevant planning law and in the absence of such law,
in the prescribed manner.
(4) No land use permissions shall be granted
unless such land use is in conformity with the land use plan for the time being
in force for that area.
260. Local development and land-use plans to abide by relevant provincial and
regional planning considerations.– Local development and land-use
plan of every local government shall take note of relevant provincial and
regional planning considerations and shall work to ensure that relevant
policies of the provincial government and other agencies having lawful
authority in the matter are observed and fulfilled.
PART 7
REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT
Chapter XXXIII – Offences Relating
to Local Government Elections
261. Prohibition to give, offer or promise illegal gratification.– (1) No person shall directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other
person on his behalf receives, agrees to or contracts for; or give, offer or
promise any gratification to:
(a) cast a vote or refrain from casting a vote; or
(b) refrain from being a candidate at, or to
withdraw or retire from an election.
(2) A person who violates the provisions of clause
(a) of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with an imprisonment for
a term not exceeding three years, or with fine not exceeding fifty thousand
rupees, or with both.
(3) A person who violates the provisions of
clause (b) of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with
imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or with fine which shall not
exceeding five hundred thousand, or with both.
262. Prohibition to
impersonate as a voter.– (1) No
person shall vote or apply for a ballot paper for voting as some other person
whether that other person is living or dead or fictitious.
(2) A person who violates the provisions of
subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term
not exceeding three years, or with fine not exceeding fifty thousand rupees, or
with both.
263. Prohibition to unduly
influence outcome of election.–
(1) No person shall, in order to compel
any person to vote, or refrain from voting, or to induce or compel any person
to withdraw his candidature at an election, directly or indirectly, by himself
or by any other person on his behalf:-
(a) make or threaten to make use of any force, violence
or restraint; or inflicts or threatens to inflict any injury, damage, harm or
loss; or
(b) use any official influence or Governmental
patronage; or
(c) abduct, or put under physical duress; or
(d) use any fraudulent device or contrivance to impede
or prevent free exercise of the franchise by a voter; or
(e) compel, induce or prevails upon any voter to refrain
from voting or compel any voter to vote.
(2) A person who contravenes any provision
of clause (a), (b), (d) or (e) of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be
punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or with fine not
exceeding three hundred thousand rupees, or with both.
(3) A person who contravenes any provision
of clause (c) of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with
imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or with fine not exceeding five
hundred thousand rupees, or with both.
264. Prohibition of certain unwarranted practices.– (1) No person shall, in relation to an
election under this Act:-
(a) obtain or procure, or attempt to obtain or procure,
the assistance of any officer or official of the Federal Government, the Government
or a local government or authority to further or hinder the election of a
candidate;
(b) vote or apply for a ballot paper for voting at an
election knowing that he is not qualified for voting or is disqualified from
voting.;
(c) vote or apply for a ballot paper for voting more
than once at any polling station;
(d) remove a ballot paper or a ballot box from a polling
station or destroy, damage or tamper with the ballot-box used at a polling
station;
(e) knowingly induce or procure any person to do any of
the aforesaid acts;
(f) withhold statement of election expenses as required
under this Act;
(g) make or publish a false statement:-
(i)
concerning
personal character of a candidate or any of his relations calculated to
adversely affect the election of such candidate; or
(ii)
for the
purpose of promoting or procuring election of another candidate;
(iii)
relating
to the symbol of a candidate whether or not such symbol has been allocated to
such candidate; or
(iv)
regarding
the withdrawal of a candidate;
(h) knowingly, in order to support or oppose a
candidate, let, lend, employ, hire, borrow or use any vehicle or vessel for the
purpose of conveying voters to or from the polling station, except when a
person conveys himself or any member of the household to which he belongs, to
or from the polling station;
(2) A person who contravenes any provision
of clause (a), (d) or (e) of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished
with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or with fine not exceeding
five hundred thousand rupees, or with both.
(3) A person who contravenes the provision
of clause (f) of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with
imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or with fine which not
exceeding three hundred thousand rupees, or with both.
(4) A person who contravenes the provision
of clause (g) of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with fine not
exceeding three hundred thousand rupees.
(5) A person who contravenes any provision
of subsection (1) not mentioned in subsection (2), (3) or (4) shall, on
conviction, be punished with fine which not exceeding five thousand rupees.
265. Canvassing on a polling
day prohibited.– (1) No person
shall, on the polling day, in relation to an election under this Act:-
(a) convene, call or organise any meeting;
(b) within a radius of two hundred meters of the polling
station canvass for votes, or solicit vote of any voter, or persuade any voter
not to vote at the election or for a particular candidate; or
(c) exhibit, except with the permission of the authorized
electoral officer and at a place reserved for the candidate or his polling
agent beyond the radius of one hundred meters of the polling station, any
notice, sign, banner or flag designed to encourage the voters to vote, or
discourage the voters from voting, for any contesting candidate.
(2) A person who contravenes any provision
of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with fine not exceeding two
hundred thousand rupees.
266. Disorderly conduct near polling station.– (1) No person shall, in relation to an
election under this Act:-
(a) use, in such manner as to be audible within a
polling station any gramophone, megaphone, loudspeaker or other apparatus for
reproducing or amplifying sounds; or
(b) persistently shout in such manner as to be audible
within the polling station; or
(c) do any act which disturbs or causes annoyance to any
voter visiting a polling station for the purpose of voting, or interferes with
the performance of the duty of an electoral officer or any other person
performing any duty at a polling station; or
(d) abet the doing of any of the aforesaid acts.
(2) A person who contravenes any provision
of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a
term not exceeding three months, or with fine not exceeding three thousand
rupees, or with both.
267. Prohibition on tampering with ballot paper etc.– (1) No person shall, in relation to an election
under this Act:-
(a) fraudulently deface or destroy any nomination paper
or ballot paper;
(b) fraudulently take out of the polling station any
ballot paper or puts into any ballot box any ballot paper other than the ballot
paper he is authorized under the rules to put in;
(c) without due authority:-
(i)
supply
any ballot paper to any person;
(ii)
destroy,
take, open or otherwise interfere with any ballot box or packet or ballot
papers in use for the purpose of election; or
(iii) break any seal affixed in accordance with the provisions
of the rules;
(d) cause any delay or interruption in the beginning,
conduct or completion of the procedure required to be immediately carried out
on the close of the poll; or
(e) fraudulently or without due authority attempt to do
any of the aforesaid acts.
(2) A person who contravenes any provision
of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a
term not exceeding six months, or with fine not exceeding one hundred thousand
rupees, or with both.
(3) Where the person referred to in
subsection (1) is a candidate for an election under this Act, he shall, on
conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years,
or with fine not exceeding five hundred thousand rupees, or with both.
268. Interference with the secrecy of voting prohibited.–
(1) No person shall, in relation to an
election under this Act:-
(a) interfere or attempt to interfere with a voter when
he records his vote;
(b) in any manner obtain or attempt to obtain, in a
polling station, information as to the candidate for whom a voter in that
station is about to vote or has voted, or
(c) communicate at any time any information obtained in
a polling station as to the candidate for whom a voter in that station is about
to vote or has voted.
(2) A person who contravenes any provision
of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a
term which not exceeding three months, or with fine not exceeding twenty
thousand rupees, or with both.
269. Duty to maintain secrecy.– (1) Every candidate and
polling agent attending a polling station shall, in relation to an election
under this Act:-
(a) maintain
and aid in maintaining the secrecy of voting; and
(b) not pass,
by any means, any information
obtained by him at the counting of votes as to the candidate for whom any vote
is given by any particular ballot paper.
(2) A candidate or polling agent who
contravenes any provision of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be punished
with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine not exceeding
ten thousand rupees, or with both.
270. Conduct of officials or any other person employed in
connection with election.– (1) An
officer or any other person performing a duty in connection with an election
shall not, during the conduct or management of an election or maintenance of
order at the polling station under this Act:-
(a) persuade or dissuades any person to give his vote or
otherwise influences in any manner the voting of any person
(b) do any other act calculated to further or hinder the
election of a candidate;
(c) by any means, pass any information obtained by him at the
counting of votes as to the candidate for whom any vote is given by any
particular ballot paper; and
(d) communicate, except for any purpose authorised by
any law, to any person before the poll is closed any information as to the name
or number on the electoral roll of any voter who has or has not applied for a
ballot paper, or has or has not voted at a polling station.
(2) An
officer or any other person who contravenes any provision of subsection (1)
shall, on conviction, be punished imprisonment for a term not exceeding six
months, or with fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees, or with both
271. Breach of official duty in connection with election.– An
officer or other person employed by any such officer in connection with his
official duties imposed by or under this Act shall be guilty of an offence
punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or with fine not
exceeding ten thousand rupees, or with both, if he, wilfully and without
reasonable cause, commits breach of any such official duty, by act or omission.
272. Illegal assistance to a candidate by government servants.– A
person in the service of Pakistan, the Government, a local government, or a
body owned or controlled by the federal or a provincial government or a local government
shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not
exceeding one year, or with fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees, or
with both if he, in any manner, provides any illegal assistance to further or
hinder the election of a candidate.
273. Prohibition
of excessive expenditure on election.– (1) No candidate, his agent or
any other person on his behalf shall accumulatively
incur expenses in excess of the amount fixed under section 107 of this Act.
(2) A candidate, his agent or other person
who contravenes the provision of subsection (1) shall, on conviction, be
punished imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or with fine not
exceeding five hundred thousand rupees, or with both
274. Failure to correctly declare election expenditure.– A candidate for an election under this
Act who knowingly submits an incorrect return on expenditures incurred by him,
his agent or by some other person on his behalf, shall, on conviction,
be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine
not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees, or with both.
275. Summary trial.– All offences under this Chapter
except the offences under sections 261, 262, 263, 264 and 267 of this Act shall
be tried in a summary manner in accordance with the provisions of the Code of
Criminal Procedure 1898 (Act V of 1898) but the limit of punishment mentioned
therein for trial of an offence in summary manner shall not be applicable to
the trial of an offence under this section.
276. Cognizance of offences under this Chapter.– (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2),
no court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Chapter except
upon a complaint in writing of the Deputy Commissioner or the respective
district, or by an officer employed in connection with the conduct of election
relating which an offence was committed and who was also empowered in this
behalf by the Government.
(2)
No court shall take cognizance of
an offence under sections 271, 272, 273 and 274 of this Act, except upon a
complaint in writing made by, or under the authority of the Election
Commission.
(3)
An offence punishable under
sections 261, 262, 263, 264, 266 and 267 shall be cognizable offences within
the meanings of section 2(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of
1898).
(4)
An offence punishable under
sections 265, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273 and 274 of this Act shall be
non-cognizable offences within the meanings of section 2(l) of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898).
Chapter XXXIV – Municipal Offences
and their Cognizance
277. Municipal
offences.– Acts or omissions listed in the second column of the Fifteenth Schedule by
a person, either directly or indirectly, by himself or any other person, shall
be an offence under this Act and shall be prosecuted or dealt with in the
manner given under section 278 and 279 of this Act.
278. Cognizance
of municipal offences.– (1) The relevant Inspector shall, on the
basis of information laid before him, or on the basis of own knowledge or
otherwise, forthwith proceed to investigate an offence in the prescribed
manner.
(2) Every investigation under
subsection (1) shall, unless so authorized by the respective Chief Officer, be completed
within fifteen days.
(3) Where as a result of an investigation,
the Inspector arrives at that there is sufficient evidence of the commission of
an offence, he shall draw a charge sheet against such person or persons whom he
considers guilty of the offence and mention therein the amount of
administrative penalty which shall be paid by them, in view of pecuniary limits
mentioned at third column of the Fifteenth Schedule against that offence.
(4) Every charge sheet under
subsection (3), along with necessary evidence and a notice for payment of
administrative penalty shall be forthwith communicated by the Inspector to all
persons against whom it is drawn with an option to settle the charge, or as the
case may be the charges, by paying the mentioned amount to the respective local
government within a period specified in the notice or, in case they wish so,
appear before the respective enforcement officer by that date and contest their
case.
(5) Where a person fails to
pay administrative penalty within the period specified under subsection (4),
the Inspector shall submit the charge or charges against that person along with
the investigation report and necessary evidence before the respective
enforcement officer.
(6) Every Inspector shall
once during each calendar month, or at such other lesser intervals as the respective
Chief Officer may direct, submit a complete list of persons who were proceeded
against by him during this period under this section and have not paid
administrative penalty in full along with charge or charges against each to the
respective enforcement officer.
279. Proceedings
before the enforcement officer.– (1) Where on the basis of the investigation
report and evidence submitted before him by the Inspector under section 278 of
this Act, the enforcement officer considers that a prima facie case exists, he
shall proceed to decide the matter.
(2) For the purpose of
subsection (1), the procedure for a trial in summary manner provided under the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act
V of 1898) shall mutatis mutandis
apply to the proceedings of the enforcement officer.
(3) If after proceeding in
the case under subsection (2), the enforcement officer considers that a person
charged under section 278 of this Act has committed an offence under this Act,
he shall direct the person to pay administrative penalty having regards to the
pecuniary limits given under fourth column of the Fifteenth Schedule against
that offence by a specified time.
(4) If, despite direction
under subsection (3), a person fails to pay administrative penalty within the
specified period, the enforcement officer may either direct the Inspector to
file a complaint before the respective Municipal Magistrate or any other
competent court or proceed to recover it in any one or more of the following
manners:
(a) attachment
of immoveable property or sale of any movable property, including bank account
of the person;
(b) appointment
of receiver for the management of the movable or immovable property of the
person;
(c) recovery
of the amount as arrear of land revenue through the Collector concerned; and
(d) require
any entity to deduct and pay the penalty to the local government from whom any
amount is due or is likely to be due to the person or who holds, or controls or
is likely to control the receipt or disposal of any amount belonging to the
person.
(5) For the purpose of this section, any
bank, receiver, Collector, or an entity who has paid any amount in compliance
with an order under this rule, shall be deemed to have paid such an amount to
the local government in respect of the person and receipt of the local
government shall constitute a good and sufficient discharge of liability of
such bank, receiver, Collector or the entity.
280. Certain powers of a court to vest upon enforcement officer.– (1) An
enforcement officer, for the purpose summoning and enforcing attendance of
persons and examining them on oath, compelling the production of documents,
receiving evidence on affidavits and appointment of commissions for record of
evidence under this Act, shall have all the powers of a civil court trying a
suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908) and shall be deemed to
be a Court within the meaning of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898).
(2) Without prejudice to any provision of
subsection (1), an enforcement officer shall be deemed to be an Executive
Magistrate within the meanings of section 14(2) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure 1898 (V of 1898).
281. Appeal
against order of an enforcement
officer.– Any person
aggrieved against the order or direction of the enforcement officer under
section 279 of this Act, may, within thirty days of the passing of such order
or direction, file an appeal before an officer appointed by the Government.
282. Cognizance of an offence under this Chapter
by courts.– No court shall
take cognizance of an offence under this Chapter except on a complaint by the respective
Inspector in accordance with the procedure mentioned under section 279 of this
Act.
283. Appointment of Inspectors and Enforcement
Officers.– (1) The
Government may, having regards to the qualification and experience required of
their office, designate officers or servants, or class of officers or servants
of the local government, who shall work as Inspectors for regulation and
enforcement of offences under this Chapter.
(2) The Chief Officer shall, in consultation
with the head of the local government, designate areas which constitute the jurisdiction
of each Inspector.
(3) The Government shall, appoint such
number of enforcement officers as may be required and also designate areas
which constitute the jurisdiction of each enforcement officer.
284. General powers of Inspectors and
Enforcement Officers.– (1) Where, an Inspector or enforcement officer
considers that such action is warranted in the interest of public health,
safety, convenience or welfare, or to avoid danger to life or property, he may,
in relation to an offence listed in the Fifteenth Schedule, by a written order:
(a) suspend,
remove or caused to be removed, any work;
(b) seize,
destroy or caused to be destroyed, any good or thing;
(c) seal
premises;
(d) prohibit an
activity; and
(e) direct that
certain measures shall be taken by the relevant person by such time and in such
manner as the considered necessary and appropriate.
(2) A person who fails to promptly obey the
direction of an Inspector or enforcement officer under subsection (1) shall an
offence punishable with imprisonment which shall not exceed one year, or with
fine which shall not exceed one-hundred thousand rupees.
286. Right of citizen not effected.– Nothing contained in this section shall effect the right of a citizen or
resident of local area to bring a legal suit or any other legal proceedings
against any local government, its officers and servants for violating his
rights under any law for the time being in force.
Chapter XXXV – Offences Relating to
Good Conduct and Conflict of Interest
287. Punishment
for acting dishonestly.– In addition to any punishment for this act provided
for under any other law for the time being in force, a head of the local
government, convenor, councillor,
officer or servant of the local government, who knowingly fails to act honestly
and in a fair and transparent manner in relation to his duties or exercise of
powers under this Act, or makes improper use of his office or information
acquired by him because of his being in such office to gain or attempt to gain,
directly or indirectly, an advantage for himself or for any other person, or
cause any detriment to the local government, shall be guilty of an offence
punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and a fine
not exceeding two hundred thousand rupees or with both.
288. Punishment
for acting despite conflict of interest.– A person who has a conflict of interest as defined under
section 216 of this Act and knowingly and for the purpose of any gain, acts in
contravention of any provision of section 216 of this Act or otherwise
influences or seeks to influence any action of the local government with
respect to a relevant transaction, shall be guilty of an offence punishable
with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding
two hundred thousand rupees or with both.
289. Punishment
for failure to disclose immediate relatives etc.– A head of the local government, convenor or
councillor who fails to disclose to the Chief Officer in writing his immediate
relatives, or employer or employee, or persons intimately known to him who
either hold, or are a candidate for appointment to any office of the local
government or a contract for supply of goods or services or for any other
purpose under the local government as required under section 113 of this Act,
shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not
exceeding three months and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees or
with both.
290. Cognizance of an offence under this Chapter
by courts.– No court shall
take cognizance of an offence under this Chapter except on a complaint by or
under the authority of the Government.
Chapter XXXVI – Offences Relating
to Local Taxes
291. Punishment for failure to provide information on liability to
tax etc.– A
person who, on being called upon under section 161 of this Act, does not furnish
information or furnishes information which in his knowledge is untrue, shall be
guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one months
and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees or with both.
292. Punishment for
non-payment of tax etc.– A person against whom a tax,
fee, rate, toll or other charge imposed upon him under this Act has become final and he does not pay the
same despite demand of the Chief Officer or an officer authorized by him in
this behalf, shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment
for a term not exceeding six months and a fine not exceeding five hundred
thousand rupees, or with both.
293. Cognizance of offences under this Chapter.– (1) All offences under section 291 and 292 of
this Act shall be non-cognizable within the meaning of section 2(l) of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898).
(2) No court shall take cognizance of
an offence under sections 291 and 292 of this Act except upon a complaint in
writing of the respective Chief Officer or a person authorized by the
Government in this behalf.
PART 8
MISCELLANEOUS
Chapter XXXVII – Officers and
Servants of Local Governments
294. Chief Officer, other officers and servants of local governments.– (1)
Every local government shall have a
Chief Officer and such number and description of other officers and servants as
the Government may from time to time determine.
(2) Without any prejudice to
the provision of subsection (4) of section 18 of this Act, all officers of a
local government shall be [72][appointed by the
Government] from amongst the officers of the Local Government Service.
(3) All servants of a local
government shall be appointed by that local government in the prescribed manner
and subject to such general directions and conditions as the [73][Government may,] from time to
time, consider appropriate.
295. Security
of tenure for the Chief Officer and other officers.– All Chief Officers and such other officers of
the local governments that may be specified by the Government from time to time,
shall ordinarily hold office for a period of not less than two years.
296. Local
Government Service.– The service constituted under section 142 of the
Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (Act XVIII of 2013) shall continue, and be
called the Local Government Service.
297. Service cadre for servants of the local
governments.– (1) There
shall be a separate service cadre for the servants of the local governments
called the Local Council Service.
(2) For the sake of
uniformity, the Government may specify functional groups within the Local
Council Service in view of qualifications, experience and skills required for
effective undertaking of various functions assigned to the local governments
under this Act, and may also specify the method for their recruitment and
general terms and conditions of their service.
(3) No local government shall
employee servants in excess of the number specified under section 294 of this
Act.
298. Continuation of the Punjab Local Government
Board.– (1) The
Punjab Local Government Board, hereinafter called the Board, constituted under
section 125 of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 shall continue.
(2) The Board shall continue
to be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal with power
to acquire, hold and transfer property, and by its name, sue or be sued.
299. Composition of the Board.– (1) The Board shall
consist of a Chairperson, a Secretary of the Board and not more than five other
members.
(2) The Secretary shall be
the Chairperson of the Board
(3) The Government may
appoint any officer of the prescribed services as Secretary of the Board in the
prescribed manner.
(4) Secretaries in charge of
Finance Department and Regulations Wing of [74][Services] and General
Administration Department shall be the ex-officio members of the Board.
300. Functions of the Board and method for
conduct of business.– (1) In
addition to any other function or duty assigned to it under any other law for
the time being in force, the Board shall, among any other things:
(a)
deal with service matters of
the [75][officers] and servants of
the Board, Local Government Service and such servants of the Local Council
Service as may be prescribed;
(b)
set up and maintain common
services for all local governments in the Punjab, including those relating to the
training of officers and servants of local governments and undertaking of works
requiring higher engineering skills;
(c)
undertake research and
policy work relating to any aspect of the local governments;
(d)
pilot innovations;
(e)
support the Government and
local governments in adherence to this Act and other relevant laws; and in fair,
just and transparent working of the local governments;
(f)
set up and operate an employee’s
fund for the receipt of contributions in respect of pension and other
post-retirement benefits of officers and staff of the Board, Local Government
Service and Local Council Service, investment of such receipts and payment of
pension and other post-retirement benefits;
(g)
set up and operate one or
more other funds as may be required in relation to its work; and
(h)
perform such other functions
as may be prescribed.
(2) All expenditures of the
Board shall be contributed by [76][the local
governments] in accordance with their share apportioned by the Government from time
to time.
(3) The business of the Board
shall be conducted in the prescribed manner.
Chapter XXXVIII – General Matters
301. Appeal
against orders of local governments.– Any person aggrieved by any order
passed by a local government or its officers or servants or other functionaries
passed in pursuance of this Act or the rules or bye-laws made thereunder, may
appeal to such authority, in such manner and within such period as may be
prescribed and order of such authority shall be final.
302. All
heads of the local governments, convenors, councillors, officer and servants of
the local governments to be public servants.– All heads of the local
governments, convenors, councillors, officers and servants of the local government
and any other person authorized to act under this Act shall be deemed to be a
public servant within the meanings of section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code
(Act XIV of 1860).
303. Remuneration
etc. for heads of the local governments, convenors and councillors.– With the previous approval of the Government,
a council may, with a simple majority of vote, allow such
remuneration, honoraria, allowance and other benefits to the head of the local
government, convenor, councillors and professional members of the head’s
cabinet as it may consider appropriate.
304. Right
to information.– (1) Subject to such reasonable restrictions as may
be prescribed, every
resident may seek any information which is in the possession of the respective local
government.
(2) It shall be the duty of the local
government to provide full and correct information referred to in subsection
(1) within fourteen days of receipt of every request.
(3) Such information, which the government
may from time to time direct, shall as far as possible, be displayed at a
prominent place within the premises of the office of the local government for
access by the citizens.
305. Training of heads of the local governments, convenors and councillors.– Every head of the local government, convenor and
councillor shall attend such training at such place and for such period, [77][as the Government may] from
time to time direct.
306. Manner of exercise of
authority of the government.– (1) Wherever any duty, authority or power has
been imposed or vested upon the Government under this Act, the offices mentioned
in the Sixteenth Schedule shall be deemed to have been authorized by the
Government for the due discharge of that duty, or exercise of that authority or
power without any prejudice to the power of the Cabinet to act in that behalf.
(2) Where no office has been mentioned in
the Sixteenth Schedule for the discharge of any duty, or exercise of any
authority or power of the Government under this Act, such duty, power or authority shall be
discharged or exercised by the Secretary without any prejudice to the power of
the Cabinet to act in that behalf as well.
307. Delegation of powers by a
local government.– Subject to the rules, a local government may delegate
any of its powers, except the powers of the council, to the head of the local government
or any of its officers or servants.
308. Bar
of suits etc. for action taken in good faith.– No suit, prosecution, or other legal proceedings shall lie against any
officer or servant of a local government, or any other person acting under this
Act, for anything done in good faith under this Act.
309. Bar
against employment of head of the local government, convenor and councillors in
the local government.– No head of
the local government, convenor and councillor of a local government shall be
employed by or under that local government unless a period of three years has
lapsed since his seizing to be such head of the local government, convenor or councillor.
310. Power
to make rules and bye-laws.– (1) The
Government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for
carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) A local government may,
and if required so by the Government shall, within ninety days of such
instruction, make bye-laws not inconsistent with the rules and the Act.
(3) Where a local government fails to meet
the requirements of subsection (2), the Government may prescribe bye-laws for
that local government which shall be valid as if framed by that local
government.
(4) Every bye-law shall come into force on
publication in the official gazette.
311. Power
to issue regulations and standing instructions.– (1) The Secretary may, with the approval of the Minister issue
regulations on policy matters relating to the work of local governments which
shall be consistent with the Act and the rules made thereunder.
(2) The Secretary may, issue standing
instructions on general matters relating to the work of local governments which
shall be consistent with the Act, rules made thereunder and the regulations.
312. Repeal and Savings.– (1) The Punjab Local Government Act, 2013
(XVIII of 2013), is hereby repealed.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act,
repeal of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013) shall not
affect:-
(a)
the previous operation of the Punjab Local Government
Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013) or anything duly done or suffered thereunder;
(b)
any right, privilege, obligation or liability
acquired, accrued or incurred under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013
(XVIII of 2013);
(c)
any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in
respect of any offence committed against the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013
(XVIII of 2013); and
(d)
any investigation, legal proceedings or remedy in
respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty,
forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid, and any such investigation, legal
proceedings or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced and any such
penalty, forfeiture and punishment may be imposed as if the Punjab Local
Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013); has not been repealed.
(3) Notwithstanding its repeal, anything
done or any action taken under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of
2013), including:
(a) every
proceeding, appointment, notification, notice, licence, rule, regulation, bye-law,
resolution or direction issued, made or saved under the Punjab Local Government
Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013);
(b) every
tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge or sums of money assessed, imposed,
collected or due to a local council under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013
(XVIII of 2013);
(c) every
scheme drawn up, contracted or executed under the Punjab Local Government Act,
2013 (XVIII of 2013); and
(d) every
instrument or contract executed under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013
(XVIII of 2013);
which so far as is in
force at the commencement of this Act and not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act unless
previously altered, modified, cancelled, suspended, surrendered, withdrawn or
superseded, as the case may be, under this Act.
313. Amendments in the Fifteenth
Schedule.– The Government may, by notification in the official gazette,
amend the fines for offences given in the Fifteenth Schedule, or add or remove
an offence and in the former case, set the fines for that offence.
314. Removal of difficulties.–
The Government may, by order, provide for the removal of any difficulty which
may arise in giving effect to the provisions of this Act.
315. Act to override other
laws.– The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything
contained in any other law for the time being in force.
Chapter
XXXIX – Transitional Arrangements
316. Interim authorities and continuation of
public services.– (1) On coming into force of this Act, all Mayors, Chairmen, Deputy Mayors
and councillors of the defunct local governments shall [78][cease] to hold their respective offices forthwith.
(2) Without any prejudice to
the provisions of subsection (1), all defunct local governments and other offices,
agencies and authorities established under the Punjab Local Government Act,
2013 (XVIII of 2013) shall continue providing public services in their
respective local areas without any interruption till such time new local
governments are constituted under this Act.
(3) Subject to any other relevant law, all officers
and servants of the defunct local governments shall continue to discharge their
respective duties and exercise their powers with the successor local
governments under this Act, till such time they are assigned or transferred to
any other local government.
(4) Nothing in this section shall preclude
the Government from appropriately re-organizing the defunct local governments
or for that matter reorganizing or reassigning any other office or authority
established under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013).
317. Interim maintenance of
offices and authorities to be transferred to local governments under this Act.– Pending the transfer of control of the office, agency or authority
referred to in section 21 of this Act, any
public service, or duty or other function which at the commencement of this Act
is being undertaken or performed by that office, agency or authority shall,
notwithstanding any provision of this Act, continue to be undertaken by that
office or authority till such time that it is transferred to the local
government.
318. Fiscal
transfers and taxes etc. to continue.– (1) On
coming into force of this Act, where a local government was receiving any
fiscal transfer, grant or compensation in lieu of Zilla tax or Octroi, the successor
local government shall continue to receive such transfer, grant or
compensation.
(2) All taxes, cess, fee, toll, rates, rent,
fee or other charges which were being charged under the Punjab Local Government
Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013) shall continue to be charged under this Act, and
every person liable to pay such tax, cess, fee, toll, rate, rent, fee or other charge
shall continue to pay, unless such tax, cess, fee, toll, rate, fee or other charge
is revised, withdrawn or varied under this Act.
319. Fiscal
transfers and budget of the succeeding local governments for the first year in
office.– (1) If for any reason, on the date of
assumption of office by a local government under this Act for the first time,
no Finance Commission has been established under section 174 of this Act, provincial
allocable amount and the share of transfers to local governments from the
provincial allocable amount shall be determined by an interim committee
constituted by the Government.
(2) Notwithstanding anything
contained in section 131 of this Act, where a local government assumes office
under this Act during the currency of a financial year, the estimate of
receipts and expenditure of that local government for that year shall cover the
remaining period.
320. Salaries
and emoluments of officers and servants of the local governments during
transition.– (1) On their allocation,
re-allocation or transfer under section 316 of this Act, the salary, pensionary
benefits and other emoluments of the officers and servants of the defunct local
governments and any other office, agency or authority established under the Punjab Local Government
Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013), shall not be reduced or varied to their
detriment.
(2) For the removal of any
ambiguity in this regard, all officers and servants of the defunct local
governments and any other office, agency or authority established under the Punjab Local Government
Act, 2013 (XVIII of 2013), shall continue to receive their
authorized salary, pensionary benefits and other emoluments up till the time
they are allocated, re-allocated or transferred to local governments
constituted under this Act.
(See section 19)
Composition
of Head’s Cabinet for Various Local Governments
Part A – Urban Local
Governments
|
Serial No |
Local area population size as per
latest census |
Total members of head’s cabinet |
Maximum permissible number of
Councillor members |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
|
1 |
Metropolitan
Corporation: more than ten million |
10 |
5 |
|
2 |
Metropolitan
Corporation: not less than five and up to ten million |
10 |
5 |
|
3 |
Metropolitan
Corporation: not less than eleven hundred thousand and up to five million |
8 |
4 |
|
4 |
Metropolitan or Municipal
Corporation: not less than eight hundred thousand and up to eleven hundred
thousand |
7 |
3 |
|
5 |
Metropolitan or Municipal
Corporation: not less than five hundred thousand and up to eight hundred
thousand |
6 |
3 |
|
6 |
Metropolitan or
Municipal Corporation: not less than two hundred fifty thousand and up to
five hundred thousand |
5 |
2 |
|
7 |
Municipal Committee:
not less than one hundred and twenty-five thousand up to two hundred fifty
thousand |
4 |
2 |
|
8 |
Municipal Committee:
not less than seventy-five thousand up to one hundred and twenty-five
thousand |
3 |
1 |
|
9 |
Town Committee: not
less than twenty-five thousand up to seventy-five thousand |
2 |
1 |
Explanation: For
the purpose of removing any ambiguity, the number of professional members of
the cabinet shall be worked by subtracting the actual number of councillors
appointed as members of the head’s cabinet remaining within the limits given in
the fourth column from the total number of total cabinet members given in the
third column of the above chart.
Part B – Tehsil Councils
|
Serial |
Local area population size as per
latest census |
Total members of head’s cabinet |
Maximum permissible number of Councillor
members |
|
1 |
More than eleven
hundred thousand |
8 |
4 |
|
2 |
Not less than eight
hundred thousand up to eleven hundred thousand |
7 |
3 |
|
3 |
Not less than five
hundred thousand and up to eight hundred thousand |
6 |
3 |
|
4 |
Not less than two
hundred thousand and up to five hundred thousand |
5 |
2 |
|
5 |
Not less than one
hundred and twenty-five thousand and upto two
hundred thousand |
4 |
2 |
|
6 |
Up to one hundred and
twenty-five thousand |
3 |
1 |
Explanation: For
the purpose of removing any ambiguity, the number of professional members of
the cabinet shall be worked by subtracting the actual number of councillors
appointed as members of the head’s cabinet remaining within the limits given in
the fourth column from the total number of total cabinet members given in the
third column of the above chart.
Second
Schedule
(See section 20)
Seats of
Councillors in Various Local Governments
Part A – Urban Local
Governments
|
Serial |
Local area population size as per
latest census |
Total seats |
Seats of general councillors |
Seats reserved for religious minorities |
Seats reserved for women |
Seats reserved for workers |
|
1 |
Metropolitan
Corporation: more than ten million |
70 |
50 |
2 |
10 |
8 |
|
2 |
Metropolitan
Corporation: not less than five and up to ten million |
63 |
45 |
2 |
9 |
7 |
|
3 |
Metropolitan
Corporation: not less than eleven hundred thousand and up to five million |
56 |
40 |
2 |
8 |
6 |
|
4 |
Metropolitan or
Municipal Corporation: not less than eight hundred thousand and up to eleven
hundred thousand |
49 |
35 |
2 |
7 |
5 |
|
5 |
Metropolitan or
Municipal Corporation: not less than five hundred thousand and up to eight
hundred thousand |
42 |
30 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
|
6 |
Metropolitan or Municipal
Corporation: not less than two hundred and fifty thousand and up to five
hundred thousand |
35 |
25 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
|
7 |
Municipal Committee:
not less than one hundred and twenty-five thousand up to two hundred and
fifty thousand |
28 |
20 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
|
8 |
Municipal Committee:
not less than seventy-five thousand up to one hundred and twenty five
thousand |
21 |
15 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
9 |
Town Committee: not
less than [79][twenty thousand] up to seventy five
thousand |
14 |
10 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
Part
B – Tehsil Councils
|
Ser |
Tehsil Council population size as per latest census |
Total seats |
Seats of general councillors |
Seats reserved for
religious minorities |
Seats reserved for women |
Seats of reserved for peasants |
|
1 |
More than eleven hundred thousand
|
56 |
40 |
2 |
8 |
6 |
|
2 |
Not less than eight hundred
thousand and up to eleven hundred thousand |
49 |
35 |
2 |
7 |
5 |
|
3 |
Not less than five hundred
thousand and up to eight hundred thousand |
42 |
30 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
|
4 |
Not less than two hundred
thousand and up to five hundred thousand |
35 |
25 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
|
5 |
Not less than one hundred
thousand and twenty-five thousand and up to two hundred thousand |
28 |
20 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
|
6 |
Up to one hundred and twenty-five
thousand |
21 |
15 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
Third Schedule
(See section 21)
Functions of a Metropolitan Corporation,
Municipal Corporation and Municipal Committee
Part
I
(a) Economic
and value chain development;
(b) Management
of primary, elementary and secondary education facilities;
(c) School
enrolment and universal education;
(d) Monitoring
and supervision of primary health care facilities;
(e) Preventive
health and hygiene;
(f) Population
welfare including population control;
(g) Solid
waste collection and disposal;
(h)
Sewerage collection and disposal including
water management and treatment;
(i) Building
control and land use;
(j) Births,
deaths, marriages and divorce registration;
(k) Museums
and art galleries;
(l) Open markets;
(m) Livestock and agriculture markets;
(n) Public
parking facilities;
(o) City
roads and traffic management;
(p) Public
transport;
(q) Abstraction
of water for industrial and commercial purposes;
(r) Emergency
planning and relief;
(s) Support
to provincial agencies in prevention of crime and maintenance of public order;
and
(t) Regulatory
enforcement in the functions assigned under Part 1 and 2 of this Schedule;
Part
2
(u) Establishment
and management of pre-schools;
(v) Libraries;
(w) Drinking
water supply;
(x) Burials,
cremations etc.;
(y) Public
conveniences;
(z) Children's
services;
(aa) Community
safety;
(bb) Arts
and recreation;
(cc) Public
fairs and ceremonies;
(dd) Sports;
(ee) Environmental
health, awareness and services;
(ff) Parks
and landscape development;
(gg) Slaughtering
of animals;
(hh) Street
lights; and
(ii) Sign
boards and street advertisements.
Fourth Schedule
(See
section 21)
Functions of a Town Committee
Part I
(a) Economic
and value chain development;
(b) Management
of primary, elementary and secondary education facilities;
(c) School
enrolment and universal education;
(d) Monitoring
and supervision of primary health care facilities;
(e) Preventive
health and hygiene;
(f) Population
welfare including population control;
(g) Solid
waste collection and disposal;
(h) Sewerage collection and disposal including water management and
treatment;
(i) Building
control and land use;
(j) Births,
deaths, marriages and divorce registration;
(k) Livestock and agriculture markets;
(l) Farm
to market roads;
(m) Abstraction
of water for industrial and commercial purposes;
(n) Emergency
planning and relief;
(o) Support
to provincial agencies in prevention of crime and maintenance of public order;
and
(p) Regulatory
enforcement in the functions assigned under Part 1 and 2 of this Schedule;
Part 2
(q) Establishment
and management of pre-schools;
(r)
Libraries;
(s)
Drinking water supply;
(t)
Burials, cremations etc.;
(u) Public
conveniences;
(v) Children's
services;
(w) Community
safety;
(x) Arts
and recreation;
(y) Public
fairs and ceremonies;
(z) Sports;
(aa) Environmental
health, awareness, services;
(bb) Parks
and landscape development;
(cc) Slaughtering
of animals;
(dd) Street
lights; and
(ee)
Sign boards and street advertisements.
Fifth Schedule
(See
section 21)
Functions of a Tehsil Council
Part I
(a) Management
of primary, elementary and secondary education facilities;
(b) School
enrolment and universal education;
(c) Monitoring
and supervision of primary health care facilities;
(d) Preventive
health and hygiene;
(e) Population
welfare including population control;
(f) Solid
waste collection and disposal;
(g) Sewerage collection and disposal including water management and
treatment;
(h) Building
control and land use;
(i) Births,
deaths, marriages and divorce registration;
(j) Museums
and art galleries;
(k) Open
markets;
(l) Animal
husbandry;
(m) Agriculture
extension;
(n) Livestock
and agricultural markets;
(o) Farm
to market roads;
(p) Abstraction
of water for industrial and commercial purposes;
(q) Emergency
planning and relief;
(r) Support
to provincial agencies in prevention of crime and maintenance of public order;
and
(s) Regulatory
enforcement in the functions assigned under Part 1 and 2 of this Schedule;
Part II
(t)
Establishment and management of
pre-schools;
(u) Libraries;
(v) Drinking
water supply;
(w) Burials,
cremations etc.;
(x) Public
conveniences;
(y) Children's
services;
(z) Community
safety;
(aa) Arts
and recreation;
(bb) Public
fairs and ceremonies;
(cc) Sports;
(dd) Environmental
health, awareness, services;
(ee) Parks
and landscape development;
(ff) Slaughtering
of animals;
(gg) Street
lights; and
(hh) Sign
boards and street advertisements.
Sixth Schedule
(See
section 109)
Declaration on Finality of
Prophethood
I, (mention here the
name of the candidate taking oath), son of, wife of or the daughter of (mention
here the name of father of the candidate and in case the candidate is a married
female, the name of her husband) do hereby solemnly swear that I believe in the
absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace
be upon him), the last of the prophets, and that I am not the follower of
anyone who claims to be a Prophet in any sense of the word or of any
description whatsoever after Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him), and that I do
neither recognize such a claimant to be Prophet or religious reformer nor do I
belong to the Qadiani group or the Lahori group or call myself Ahmadi.
|
Date: |
Signature
of the Declarant |
Seventh Schedule
(See
section 114)
Oath of Office of the Head of the
Local Government
(in the name of Allah,
the most Beneficent, the most Merciful)
That,
I shall bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and would always work to
strengthen its ideology, integrity, solidarity and prosperity;
And
that, I shall perform my duties under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 and
rules, bye-laws and regulations made under it and all other applicable laws,
honestly, efficaciously and efficiently to the best of my ability;
And
that I shall, as (mention here the office of the head of the local government
viz. Lord Mayor, Mayor of Chairperson), always work in the best interest of the
residents without any favour or prejudice and shall not allow my personal
interest to influence my official conduct or my official decision;
And
that I shall, to the best of my ability, use moneys and resources of the
(mention the name of the local government) in the best interest of the
residents and would do all what is required to prevent misuse or
misappropriation of such money or resources;
And
that in all circumstances I shall do right to all people according to law
without fear or favour, ill will, or discrimination;
And
that I shall, always act according to and uphold and promote democratic values;
And
that I shall not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any
matter which shall become known to me in my official capacity, except as may be
required for the due discharge of my duties.
May
Allah Almighty, or (in case the Mayor is a non-Muslim) God, help and guide me (A’meen)
|
Countersigned Signature and seal of
the |
Signature of the
Declarant |
Oath
of the Office of the Convenor
(in the name of Allah,
the most Beneficent, the most Merciful)
I,
(mention here the name of the convenor taking oath), son of, wife of or the
daughter of (mention here the name of father of the convenor and in case the convenor
is a married female, the name of her husband) elected as convenor of (mention
here the name of respective local government) do hereby solemnly (in case the convenor
is a Muslim) swear, or (in case the convenor is a non-Muslim) affirm:
That,
I shall bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and would always work to strengthen
its ideology, integrity, solidarity and prosperity;
And
that, I shall perform my duties under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 and
rules, bye-laws and regulations made under it and all other applicable laws,
honestly, efficaciously and efficiently to the best of my ability;
And
that I shall, as a convenor, always work in the best interest of the residents
and shall not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my
official decision;
And
that I shall, to the best of my ability, use moneys and resources of the
(mention the name of the local government) in the best interest of the
residents and would do all what is required to prevent misuse or
misappropriation of such money or resources;
And
that in all circumstances I shall do right to all people according to law
without fear or favour, ill will, or discrimination;
And that I shall, always act
according to and uphold and promote democratic values;
And
that I shall not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any
matter which shall become known to me in my official capacity, except as may be
required for the due discharge of my duties.
May
Allah Almighty, or (in case the convenor is a non-Muslim) God, help and guide
me (A’meen)
|
Countersigned Signature
and seal of the |
Signature
of the Declarant |
Oath of
Office of Councillor
(in the name of Allah,
the most Beneficent, the most Merciful)
I,
(mention here the name of the councillor taking oath), son of, wife of or the
daughter of (mention here the name of father of the councillor and in case the
councillor is a married female, the name of her husband) elected as councillor
to (mention here the name of respective local government) do hereby solemnly
(in case the councillor is a Muslim) swear, or (in case the councillor is a non-Muslims)
affirm:
That,
I shall bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and would always work to strengthen
its ideology, integrity, solidarity and prosperity;
And
that, I shall perform my duties under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 and
rules, bye-laws and regulations made under it and all other applicable laws,
honestly, efficaciously and efficiently to the best of my ability;
And
that I shall, as a councillor, always work in the best interest of the residents
and shall not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my
official decision;
And
that I shall, to the best of my ability, use moneys and resources of the
(mention the name of the local government) in the best interest of the
residents and would do all what is required to prevent misuse or
misappropriation of such money or resources;
And
that in all circumstances I shall do right to all people according to law
without fear or favour, ill will, or discrimination;
And
that I shall, always act according to and uphold and promote democratic values;
And
that I shall not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any
matter which shall become known to me in my official capacity, except as may be
required for the due discharge of my duties.
May
Allah Almighty, or (in case the councillor is a non-Muslim) God, help and guide
me (A’meen)
|
Countersigned Signature
and seal of the |
Signature
of the Declarant |
Eighth Schedule
(See sections 114)
Declaration
of Immediate Relatives etc.
I, (mention here the
name of the declarant), son of, wife of or the daughter of (mention here the
name of father of the declarant and in case the declarant is a married female,
the name of her husband) elected as or holding the office of (mention here the
office of the declarant ) of (mention here the name of respective local
government) do hereby declare that my immediate relatives, or employer or
employee, or persons intimately known to me who either hold, or are a candidate
for appointment to any office of the local government or a contract for supply
of goods or services or for any other purpose under the local government are as
under:-
(a) (mention
here the name, father’s name of the person declared or in case the person
declared is a married female, the name of her husband, the position held or to
which that person is a candidate for or the respective contract for supply of
goods or services of for any purpose under the local government)
(b) ……
(c) ……
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Countersigned Signature
and seal of the |
Signature
of the Declarant |
Ninth Schedule
(See section 114, 115)
Declaration
of Assets
I, (mention here the
name of declarant), son of, wife of or the daughter of (mention here the name
of father of declarant and in case the declarant is a married female, the name
of her husband) elected as or holding the office of (mention here the office of
the declarant ) of (mention here the name of respective local government) do
hereby declare that I and my parents, spouse, children and dependant(s) own
following assets:-
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A |
Immovable
Property: Land |
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Ser |
Location |
Area |
Nature (agricultural,
residential, commercial etc.) |
Present value |
Name of owner |
Extent of declarant’s interest |
Date of acquisition |
Manner of acquisition |
Remarks |
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B |
Immovable
Property: Residential Property |
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Ser |
Address |
Area |
Present use |
Present value |
Name of owner |
Extent of declarant’s interest |
Date of acquisition |
Manner of acquisition |
Remarks |
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C |
Immovable Property: Other
description |
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Ser |
Address |
Area
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Present
use |
Present
value |
Name
of owner |
Extent
of declarant’s interest |
Date
of acquisition |
Manner
of acquisition |
Remarks |
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A |
Movable
Property: Cash in hand, Credit, Insurance Policy, Debenture, Shares etc. |
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Ser |
Description
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Present value |
Name
of owner |
In
case of loan, name of creditor and relationship between creditor with
declarant |
Date
of acquisition |
Manner
of acquisition |
Remarks |
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B |
Movable Property: Businesses |
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Ser |
Description |
Capital |
Name of owner |
Date of acquisition |
Manner of acquisition |
Remarks |
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C |
Movable Property: Motor Vehicles |
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Ser |
Description
(make, model, registration) |
Present value |
Name
of owner |
Date
of acquisition |
Manner
of acquisition |
Remarks |
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1 |
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D |
Movable Property: Bank Account(s) |
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Ser |
Account
number, title, Bank and Branch |
Present value |
Name
of account holder |
Date
of acquisition |
Manner
of acquisition |
Remarks |
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I hereby declare that the Declaration m ado above is complete,
true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Signature
of the Declarant
Tenth Schedule
(see
section 156)
Taxes, Fees, Rates and Tolls of
Various Local Government
Part - I
Metropolitan Corporation, Municipal
Corporations and Municipal Committees
(a) Tax
on urban immovable property;
(b) Entertainment
tax on dramatic and theatrical shows;
(c) Tax
on the transfer of immovable property;
(d) Water
rate;
(e) Drainage
rate;
(f) Conservancy
rate;
(g) Fee
for approval of building plans, erection and re-erection of buildings;
(h)
Fee for change of land use of a
land or building as prescribed;
(i)
Fee for licenses, sanctions and
permits;
(j)
Fee on the slaughter of animals;
[80][(k) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *]
(l)
Market fees;
(m) Tax
on advertisement and billboards;
(n)
Toll tax on roads, bridges and
ferries maintained by the respective Metropolitan Corporation, Municipal
Corporation or the Municipal Committee;
(o)
Fee at fairs and industrial
exhibitions;
(p)
Fee for specific services rendered
by the local government;
(q)
Fee for registration and
certification of births and marriages;
(r)
Tax for the construction or
maintenance of any work of public utility;
(s)
Parking fee;
(t)
Water conservancy charge from the
owner or occupier of a house or any other building;
(u)
Tax on installation of Base
Transceiver Station/Tower;
[81][(v) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *]
(w) Any
other tax or levy authorized by the Government.
Part - II
Town Committees
(a) Tax
on urban immovable property;
(b) Tax
on the transfer of immovable property;
(c) Water
rate;
(d) Drainage
rate;
(e) Conservancy
rate;
(f) Fee
for approval of building plans, erection and re-erection of buildings;
(g) Fee
for change of land use of a land or building as prescribed;
(h) Fees
on the slaughter of animals;
(i) Market
fees;
(j) Tax
on advertisement and billboards; and
(k) Parking
fees.
Part - III
Tehsil Councils
(a)
Tax on the transfer of immovable
property;
(b)
Fees for licenses, sanctions and
permits granted by the Tehsil Council;
(c)
Market fees for the markets
maintained by the Tehsil Council;
(d)
Local rate on lands assessable to
land revenue;
(e)
Rates on the services provided by
the Tehsil Council;
(f)
Fees at fairs, agricultural shows
and industrial exhibitions;
(g)
Fees for specific services rendered
by the Tehsil Council;
(h)
Toll on bridges and ferries
maintained by the respective Tehsil Council.
(i)
Tax for the construction or
maintenance of a work of public utility;
(j)
Tax on
advertisement and billboards;
(k)
Fee for approval of building plans,
erection and re-erection of building for industrial or commercial purposes and
such residential buildings which are located in a private housing scheme;
(l)
Fee for change of land use of a
land or building as prescribed;
(m) Water
conservancy charge from the owner or occupier of a house or any other building;
(n)
Tax on installation of Base
Transceiver Station/Tower;
[82][(o) * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * *]
(p) Any
other tax or levy authorized by the Government.
Eleventh Schedule
(See section 179)
Oath of Office for Member of Punjab Finance
Commission
(in the name of Allah, the most
Beneficent, the most Merciful)
I,
(mention here the name of the member taking oath), on being appointed as a
member of the Punjab Finance Commission, do hereby solemnly affirm:
That,
I shall bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and would always work to
strengthen its ideology, integrity, solidarity and prosperity;
And
that, I shall perform my duties in accordance with the spirit of the provisions
of Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 and rules, bye-laws and regulations made
under it as well as the other applicable laws, honestly, efficaciously and
efficiently to the best of my ability;
And
that I shall, as a member of Punjab Finance Commission, always work in the best
interest of the citizens of the Punjab and shall not allow my personal interest
to influence my official conduct or my official decision;
And
that in all circumstances I shall do right to all people according to law
without fear or favour, ill will, or discrimination;
And
that I shall not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any
matter which shall become known to me in my official capacity, except as may be
required for the due discharge of my duties.
May
Allah Almighty, or (in case the councillor is a non-Muslim) God, help and guide
me (A’meen)
|
Countersigned Signature
and seal of the |
Signature
of the Declarant |
Twelfth Schedule
(See
section 232)
Grounds for Suspension or Removal of
a Head of the local government, Convenor or Councillor
[83][(a) Where the head of the local government,
convenor or, as the case may be, councillor is corrupt or involves himself in
corruption or corrupt practice within the meaning of clause (u) of section 2 of
this Act, the Elections Act or any other law for the time being in force;]
(b) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor generally acts in
a manner which is prejudicial to the public interest;
(c) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor repeatedly
exceeds any authority or repeatedly misuses any authority conferred upon him
under this Act;
(d) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor grossly exceeds
any authority or grossly misuses any authority conferred upon him under this
Act;
(e) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor is convicted of
an offence involving moral turpitude or an offence carrying punishment of three
years and more under any law for the time being in force;
(f) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor incurs any of the
disqualifications enumerated in section 109 of this Act or otherwise becomes
ineligible for being elected as a head of the local government, convenor or, as
the case may be, councillor;
(g) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor fails to take
oath or submit a declaration under section 113 of this Act;
(h) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor violates any
provision of the oath undertaken by him under this Act;
(i) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor fails to declare
assets under section 114 of this Act despite notice;
(j) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor being the head of
the local government, absents himself from office without reasonable cause
repeatedly;
(k) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor absents himself
from three consecutive meetings of the council;
(l) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor contravenes one
or more provisions of sections 42, 43 and 44 of this Act;
(m) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor is guilty of
misconduct in terms of section 220 of this Act;
(n) Where the head of the
local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor fails to comply
with a lawful instruction of the Government despite notice; and
(o) Where being the head
of the local government, he fails to undertake any measure or arrangement as
required under section 229 of this Act;
Thirteenth
Schedule
(See
section 233)
Grounds for Suspension or Removal
of a Council
(a)
Where the head of the local government, having failed
twice during the relevant financial year to show cause to the satisfaction of
the Government under section 229 of this Act on this account, does not
undertake a function or fails to meet minimum standard of quality of public
services fixed or expected under section 29 of this Act in relation to more
than one quarter of the functions assigned to the respective local government
under this Act;
(b)
Where the council has been unable to meet its financial
obligations for the last two financial years;
(c)
Where the local government becomes insolvent and
remains so for a period of one financial year;
(d)
Where the local government generally acts in a manner
prejudicial to the public interest; or
(e)
Where the local government otherwise grossly exceeds
or abuses the authority conferred upon it under this Act.
Fourteenth Schedule
(See section 243)
Oath
of Office for Member of Punjab Local Government Commission
(in the name of Allah, the most
Beneficent, the most Merciful)
I,
(mention here the name of the member taking oath), on being appointed as a
member of the Punjab Local Government Commission, do hereby solemnly affirm:
That,
I shall bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and would always work to strengthen
its ideology, integrity, solidarity and prosperity;
And
that, I shall perform my duties in accordance with the spirit of the provisions
of Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 and rules, bye-laws and regulations made
under it as well as the other applicable laws, honestly, efficaciously and
efficiently to the best of my ability;
And
that I shall, as a member of Punjab Local Government Commission, always work in
the best interest of the citizens of the Punjab and shall not allow my personal
interest to influence my official conduct or my official decision;
And
that in all circumstances I shall do right to all people according to law
without fear or favour, ill will, or discrimination;
And
that I shall not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person any
matter which shall become known to me in my official capacity, except as may be
required for the due discharge of my duties.
May
Allah Almighty, or (in case the member is a non-Muslim) God, help and guide me
(A’meen)
|
Countersigned Signature
and seal of the |
Signature
of the Declarant |
Fifteenth
Schedule
(See section 277)
Municipal
Offences
|
Serial |
Offence |
First stage administrative penalty |
Administrative penalty by enforcement officer |
Imprisonment or fine to be imposed upon a person
on conviction by a competent court (maximum limit) |
|
A |
Offences relating to unlawful use
of public space |
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(1)
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Obstructing
or tampering with any road, street, drain or pavement |
Rupees one thousand |
Rupees one thousand to four thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees ten
thousand or both |
|
(2)
|
Fixing of wooden
cabins or temporary shops or extension thereof on footpaths or beyond the
street line |
Rupees two
thousand |
Rupees two thousand to eight thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifteen thousand or both |
|
(3)
|
Immovable encroachment
in or on or under any property or any open space or land vested in or
managed, maintained or controlled by a local government. |
Rupees thirty
thousand, removal at encroacher’s expense |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand,
removal at encroacher’s expense |
Imprisonment for thirty days, or fine of rupees
three hundred thousand, or both and removal of encroachment at encroacher’s
expense |
|
(4)
|
Erection or
re-erection of building over set back area or parking area or building line
area required to be left open under the rules for using such space for any
purpose which is not approved. |
Rupees thirty
thousand , removal at encroacher’s expense |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand, removal
at encroacher’s expense |
Imprisonment for thirty days, or fine of rupees
three hundred thousand, or both and removal of encroachment at encroacher’s
expense |
|
(5)
|
Changing or converting
into any other use any portion of a commercial building or area specified or
earmarked for public parking. |
Rupees one hundred and fifty thousand, removal at
encroacher’s expense |
Rupees three hundred thousand to five hundred
thousand, removal at encroacher’s expense |
Imprisonment for three months, or fine of rupees
five hundred thousand, or both and removal of encroachment at encroacher’s
expense |
|
(6)
|
Plying of handcarts
for the sale of goods without permission |
Rupees eight hundred |
Rupees one thousand to two thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees five
thousand or both |
|
(7)
|
Picketing, parking
animals or collecting carts or vehicles on any street, using any street as a
halting place for vehicle or animals or as a place encampment without the
permission of the local government. |
Rupees eight hundred |
Rupees one thousand to two thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees five
thousand or both |
|
(8)
|
Establishing or
running any restaurant or vending stalls for eatables on any road, street,
footpath, public place, over a drain, or any other property vesting in or
managed or controlled by a local government without permission |
Rupees twenty five thousand, removal at
encroacher’s expense |
Rupees thirty thousand to one hundred thousand,
removal at encroacher’s expense |
Imprisonment for thirty days, or fine of rupees
three hundred thousand, or both and removal of encroachment at encroacher’s
expense |
|
(9)
|
Fixing any bill,
notice, play card, poster or other paper or means of advertisement against or
upon any private or public building or place other than the places fixed for
the purpose by a local government. |
Rupees five
thousand |
Rupees five thousand to twenty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(10)
|
Exhibiting any obscene
advertisement. |
Rupees ten thousand |
Rupees thirty thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(11)
|
Establishing
any parking stand on any property or on any open space and public park or
land vested in or managed, maintained or controlled by a local government on
or under a street, road, graveyard or a drain without the sanction of the
concerned local government. |
Rupees
twenty five thousand, removal at encroacher’s expense |
Rupees thirty thousand to one hundred thousand,
removal at encroacher’s expense |
Imprisonment for thirty days, or fine of rupees
three hundred thousand, or both and removal of encroachment at encroacher’s
expense |
|
(12)
|
Establishing any bus,
wagon, taxi or other commercial motorized or non-motorized vehicle stand, for
purposes of plying them on different routes, on any road, street, footpath,
public place or any other property vested or managed or controlled or
maintained by a local government without its permission. |
Rupees one hundred thousand |
Rupees one hundred thousand to five hundred
thousand |
Imprisonment of six months, or fine of rupees one
million or both |
|
B |
Offences relating to littering
and spoiling |
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(13)
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Failure of the owner or occupier of an industrial or
large commercial unit to cause or to knowingly or negligently allow the
contents of any sink, sewer or cesspool or any other offensive matter to
flow, or drain or to be put upon any street, or public place, or into
irrigation channel or any sewer or drain not set apart for the purpose |
Rupees
one hundred thousand |
Rupees one hundred thousand to five hundred
thousand |
Imprisonment of six months, or fine of rupees one
million or both |
|
(14)
|
Failure by the owner or occupier of a house or small
shop to cause or to knowingly or negligently allow the contents of any sink,
sewer or cesspool or any other offensive matter to flow, or drain or to be
put upon any street, or public place, or into irrigation channel or any sewer
or drain not set apart for the purpose |
Rupees
four thousand |
Rupees five thousand to twenty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(15)
|
Throwing
or placing any refuse, litter or garbage on any street, or in any place, not
provided or appointed for the purpose by a local government. |
Rupees
five hundred |
Rupees five hundred thousand to five thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees ten
thousand or both |
|
(16)
|
Failure
to provide for disposal of litter or garbage inside or outside a shop by its
owner or occupier. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
thirty thousand or both |
|
(17)
|
Failure
to maintain clean premises of the area in front of a shop or office up to the
public street or road serving this facility. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees thirty
thousand or both |
|
(18)
|
Failure
to maintain clean premises of the area in front of a factory up to the public
street or road serving this facility. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(19)
|
Failure
to provide, close, remove, alter, repair, clean, disinfect or put in proper
order any latrine, urinal drain, cesspool or other receptacle for filth,
sullage, water or refuse by an owner or occupier of a house, shop or office
or premises. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
thirty thousand or both |
|
(20)
|
Failure
to provide, close, remove, alter, repair, clean, disinfect or put in proper
order any latrine, urinal drain, cesspool or other receptacle for filth,
sullage, water or refuse by an owner or occupier of an industry |
Rupees
forty thousand |
Rupees one hundred thousand to five hundred
thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees ten
hundred thousand or both |
|
(21)
|
Failure
to clean the premises, houses, shops and cultivated lands of the plastic bags
and other non-perishable materials. |
Rupees
two thousand |
Rupees three thousand to ten thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees one twenty
thousand or both |
|
(22)
|
Damaging
or polluting physical environment, inside or outside private or public
premises, in a manner to endanger public health. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
(23)
|
Dumping
of solid waste and refuse by any person or entity on a place other than
landfill or dumping site, notified or designated by the concerned local
government. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
C |
Offences relating to cattle,
animals and pets |
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|
(24)
|
Keeping
or maintaining any cattle in any part of city where keeping of cattle is
prohibited or failure to remove the cattle from the prohibited zone within
the specified time when an order to this effect has been made |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees four thousand to ten thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees
thirty thousand or both |
|
(25)
|
Keeping ferocious dogs or other animals in residential
areas or taking such animals to public places or the areas specified by the
local government, without leash or chain and without being muzzled or to set
at large any animal or dog infected with rabies or any other infectious disease. |
Rupees
eight hundred |
Rupees one thousand to four thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees ten
thousand or both |
|
(26)
|
Obstructing
lawful seizure of animals liable to be impounded on the ground of violations
of rules or bye-laws governing the picketing, tethering, keeping, milching or slaughter of animals or their trespass of
private or public property. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
(27)
|
Causing
or permitting animals to stray or keeping, tethering, stalling, feeding or
gazing any cattle on any road, street or thoroughfare or in any public place
or damaging or causing or permitting to be damaged any road, street or
thoroughfare by allowing cattle to move thereon. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(28)
|
Watering
cattle or animals, or bathing or washing at or near a well or other source of
drinking water for the public. |
Rupees
seven thousand |
Rupees fifteen thousand to thirty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(29)
|
Feeding
or allowing to be fed an animal meant for dairy or meat purposes, on
deleterious substance, filth or refuse of any kind which is dangerous to
health of consumers. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
(30)
|
Causing
or permitting to be caused by any owner or keeper of an animal which, through
neglect or otherwise, damages any land or crop or produce of land, or any
public road. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(31)
|
Selling
of individual cattle and animal in contravention of any law, rule or bye-laws
of a local government. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
(32)
|
Establishment
and operation of a cattle market in contravention of any law, rule or
bye-laws of a local government |
Rupees two hundred thousand |
Rupees five hundred thousand to one million |
Imprisonment for three months, or fine of rupees
two million, or both |
|
(33)
|
Keeping
pigeon or other birds in a manner causing danger to air traffic |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
D |
Offences relating to disposal of
dead and carcasses of animals etc. |
|||
|
(34)
|
Burying or burning a dead body at a place which is not
a public or registered burial or burning place, except with the sanction of
the local government. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(35)
|
Disposal
of carcasses of animals within prohibited distance. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(36)
|
Failure
to dispose of offal, fat or any organ or part of a dead animal in a place set
apart for the purpose by the local government. |
Rupees
two thousand |
Rupees three thousand to ten thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees one
twenty thousand or both |
|
E |
Offences relating to unlawful
interference with local government properties and infrastructure |
|||
|
(37)
|
Obstructing
or tampering with any main pipe, meter or any apparatus or appliance for the
supply of water or sewerage system. |
Rupees
ten thousand |
Rupees ten thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(38)
|
Owner
or occupier of a house or shop drawing off, diverting or taking any water
except with the previous permission of the local government |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(39)
|
Owner
or occupier of an industrial or a large commercial unit drawing off,
diverting or taking any water except with the previous permission of the
local government |
Rupees
seventy thousand |
Rupees one hundred thousand to three hundred
thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
hundred thousand or both |
|
(40)
|
Laying out a drain or altering a
drain in a street or road without the previous sanction of the local
government |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(41)
|
Connecting any house drain with a
drain in a public street without the previous sanction of the local
government |
Rupees three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(42)
|
Defacing or disturbing, without due authorization, any
direction-post, lamp post or lamp extinguishing or any light arranged by a
local government. |
Rupees
two thousand |
Rupees three thousand to ten thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees one
twenty thousand or both |
|
(43)
|
Failure
to deliver back possession of property to the local government on
cancellation and expiration of lease. |
Rupees
seventy thousand |
Rupees one hundred thousand to two hundred
thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
five hundred thousand or both |
|
F |
Offences
relating to sources of water supply etc. |
|||
|
(44)
|
Steeping
hemp, jute or any other plant in or near a pond or any other excavation
within such distance of the residential area as may be specified by a local
government. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(45)
|
Failure
by the owner or occupier of any land or building to clean, repair, cover,
fill up or drain off any private well, tank or other source of water supply,
which is declared under this Act to be injurious to health or offensive to
the neighbourhood. |
Rupees
seven thousand |
Rupees fifteen thousand to thirty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(46)
|
Failure
to stop leakages of water pipes, faucets and sanitary fittings resulting in
dirty water pools affecting physical environments and breeding of mosquitoes. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(47)
|
Failure
of an owner or occupier of any building or land to put up and keep in good
condition troughs and pipes for receiving or carrying water or sullage water. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(48)
|
Extraction
of water for industrial or commercial purposes without approval |
Rupees
seventy thousand |
Rupees hundred thousand to three hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of fourteen days, or fine of rupees
five hundred thousand or both |
|
(49)
|
Extraction
of water from a natural stream, lake, pond or other water body of historic
significance |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to ten thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
twenty thousand or both |
|
G |
Offences relating to maintenance
of trees, plants and hedges etc. |
|||
|
(50)
|
Failure
by the owner or occupier of any land to cut or trim the hedges growing
thereon which overhang any well, tank or other source from which water is
derived for public use. |
Rupees eight hundred |
Rupees one thousand to four thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees ten
thousand or both |
|
(51)
|
Failure
by the owner or occupier of any land to clear away and remove any vegetation
declared by a local government to be injurious to health or offensive to
neighbourhoods |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(52)
|
Illegally
cutting down of any tree, from any street or road of a local government road |
Rupees
thirty thousand |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
H |
Offences
relating to public nuisance and public health |
|||
|
(53)
|
Loud
playing of music or radio, beating of drum or tom-tom, blowing a horn or
beating or sounding any brass or other instruments or utensils in
contravention of any general or special prohibition issued by a local
government or in and around a hospital or an educational institution. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(54)
|
Loud
shouting in abusive language causing distress to the inhabitants of a
neighbourhood or village or any other public place. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(55)
|
Using
or allowing the use for human habitation of a building declared by a local
government to be unfit for human habitation. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
(56)
|
Failure to lime-wash or repair a building, if so
required by local government. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
fifty thousand or both |
|
(57)
|
Begging
importunately for alms by exposing any deformity or disease or any offensive
sore or wound to solicit charity. |
Rupees eight hundred |
Rupees one thousand to four thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees ten
thousand or both |
|
(58)
|
Discharging any dangerous chemical, inflammable,
hazardous or offensive article in any drain, or sewer, public water course or
public land vested in or managed, maintained or controlled by the local
government in such manner as causes or is likely to cause danger to persons
passing by or living or working in neighbourhood, or risk or injury to
property. |
Rupees
thirty thousand |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
|
(59)
|
Failure
of industrial or commercial concerns to provide adequate and safe disposal of
affluent or prevention of their mixing up with the water supply or sewerage
system. |
Rupees
seventy thousand |
Rupees hundred thousand to two hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
hundred thousand or both |
|
(60)
|
Cultivation
of agriculture produce or crop, for supply or sale to public using such
manure, or irrigating it with sewer water or any such liquid as may be
injurious to public health or offensive to the neighbourhood. |
Rupees
twenty thousand |
Rupees thirty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
I |
Offences relating to land use and
building control |
|||
|
(61)
|
Undertaking
of a site development scheme without approval, violation of any prohibition
provided in the master land use plan or sanctioned site development schemes
under this Act or any other law for the time being in force including the
plans and schemes sanctioned under the repealed enactments. |
Rupees
one hundred thousand |
Rupees one hundred thousand to one million |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
million or both |
|
(62)
|
Erection
or re-erection of a building without the sanction required under this Act or
using a building for a purpose which may endanger public safety |
Rupees one hundred thousand and removal at owner’s
expense |
Rupees one hundred thousand to one million and
removal at owner’s expense |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
million or both and removal at owner’s expense |
|
(63)
|
Establishing
a brick kiln and lime kiln within such distance of a residential area as may
be specified by the local government. |
Rupees seventy thousand and removal at owner’s
expense |
Rupees one hundred thousand to three hundred
thousand and removal at owner’s expense |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
hundred thousand or both and removal at owner’s expense |
|
J |
Offences relating to public
safety |
|||
|
(64)
|
Manufacturing,
storing, trading or carrying fire crackers, fire balloons or detonators or
any dangerous chemical, inflammable, hazardous or offensive article or
material without license from concerned authority. |
Rupees
ten thousand |
Rupees fifteen thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of fifteen days, or fine of rupees
one hundred thousand or both |
|
(65)
|
Excavation
of earth, stone or any other material within such distance of the residential
area as specified by the local government. |
Rupees
thirty thousand |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
hundred thousand or both |
|
(66)
|
Failure
to demolish or otherwise secure a building declared by the local government
to be dangerous building. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand and removal at
owner’s expense |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand and
removal at owner’s expense |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both and removal at owner’s expense |
|
(67)
|
Digging
of public land without the permission in writing of local government. |
Rupees
ten thousand |
Rupees fifteen thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of fifteen days, or fine of rupees
one hundred thousand or both |
|
(68)
|
Quarrying,
blasting, cutting timber or carrying building operations in such manner as causes
or is likely to cause danger to persons passing by or living or working in
the neighbourhood. |
Rupees
thirty thousand |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
hundred thousand or both |
|
(69)
|
Dyeing
or tanning skins within such distance of any commercial or residential areas
as may be specified by the local government. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(70)
|
Crushing
and grinding of limestone and quartz without approval |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
K |
Other
offences |
|||
|
(71)
|
Failure
to furnish, on requisition, information in respect of any matter which a
local government is authorized to call for under any of the provisions of
this Act, rules or bye-laws or furnishing wrong information. |
Rupees eight hundred |
Rupees one thousand to two thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees five
thousand or both |
|
(72)
|
Overcharging or illegally charging any tax, fee, fine,
charge or rate by an employee of a local government or a contractor or his
staff without the authority of a local government. |
Rupees
thirty-five thousand |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
hundred thousand or both |
|
(73)
|
Preparing
or using counterfeit or proscribed Forms of the local government. |
Rupees
twenty thousand |
Rupees thirty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(74)
|
Wilfully
obstructing any officer or servant of a local government or any person
authorized to exercise power conferred under this Act. |
Rupees
thirty thousand |
Rupees fifty thousand to one hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of one month, or fine of rupees five
hundred thousand or both |
|
(75)
|
Doing
an act without license or permission when the doing of such act requires a
license or permission under any of the provisions of this Act or the rules or
bye-laws. |
Rupees
fifteen thousand |
Rupees twenty thousand to fifty thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees one
hundred thousand or both |
|
(76)
|
Evasion
of payment of tax or other impost lawfully levied by a local government. |
Rupees two thousand and report to police |
Rs.4,000 and report to police |
Confinement for three weeks / fine (minimum amount
to be more than previously imposed) |
|
(77)
|
Contravention
of any prohibition or direction of the local government issued under this Act
or the rules. |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to fifteen thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees
thirty thousand or both |
|
(78)
|
Contravention
of the prohibition or attempt or abetment of any of the offences in this
Schedule |
Rupees
three thousand |
Rupees five thousand to one hundred thousand |
Imprisonment of seven days, or fine of rupees two
hundred thousand or both |
Sixteenth Schedule
(See section 306)
Manner
of Exercise of Powers Conferred upon Government
|
Serial |
Corresponding section of the Act |
Power of the Government |
Person or authority authorized to exercise this
power |
|
(1)
|
Section
3(2) |
Power
to constitute succeeding local governments |
Chief
Minister |
|
(2)
|
Section
4 |
Power
to determine the extent of right, fund, claim or liability or portion thereof
of a defunct local government which shall be succeeded by a local government |
Secretary |
|
(3)
|
Section
4 |
Power
to allow a local government to succeed a property, right, fund, claim or
liability or portion thereof of a defunct local government which does not
pertain to its function under this Act |
Minister |
|
(4)
|
Section
4 |
Power
to provide for the manner of succession and discharge of liabilities of a
defunct local government |
Minister |
|
(5)
|
Section
4 |
Power
to assign properties, rights, funds, claims or liabilities among local
governments, and settling all disputes relating to this matter |
Secretary |
|
(6)
|
Section
6(3) |
Power
to require a local government to take such measures, or not to act or do
anything, or run its affairs, or to incur expenditure in a manner as is
likely to further the objectives of section 5 of this Act |
Minister,
Secretary |
|
(7)
|
Section
8, 9 |
Power
to demarcate, classify and name local areas |
Cabinet |
|
(8)
|
Section
10 |
Power
to change the name of a local area |
Minister
|
|
(9)
|
Section
12 |
Power
to direct special reviews of one or more local areas by the Commission |
Chief
Minister |
|
(10)
|
Section
13(2) |
Power
to issue general directions for the conduct of periodical and special reviews
of local areas by the Commission |
Secretary |
|
(11)
|
Section
14 |
Power
to change limits or classification of a local area |
Cabinet |
|
(12)
|
Section
15, 16 |
Power
to constitute and name a local government |
Minister
|
|
(13)
|
Section
17 |
Power to divide, amalgamate or re-constitute a
local government consequent to changes in limits or classification of a local
area |
Minister |
|
(14)
|
Section
18 |
Power to appoint Chief Officers |
Authority
prescribed under respective service rules |
|
(15)
|
Section
21 |
Power
to approve conditions and control for the transfer of any office, agency or
authority established or maintained by the Government to respective
Metropolitan Corporation, |
Chief
Minister |
|
(16)
|
Section
22 |
Power
to assign additional function to a local government |
Cabinet |
|
(17)
|
Section
23 |
Power
to issue policy directions, guidelines for effective transparent and
efficient undertaking of functions by a local government |
Secretary
with the approval of Minister |
|
(18)
|
Section
23 |
Power
to fix objectives for effective transparent and efficient undertaking of
functions by a local government |
Secretary |
|
(19)
|
Section
26(2) |
Power to permit a government office, authority or
agency to partake agency arrangements with a local government |
Secretary |
|
(20)
|
Section
27(1) |
Power
to appoint an undertaker for any function listed in Part I of Third, Fourth
or Fifth Schedule |
Chief
Minister |
|
(21)
|
Section
29 (1)(b) |
Power to fix standard of provision of a public
service |
Minister |
|
(22)
|
Section
32(1) |
Power to establish joint authority for provision
of one or more public services in relation to function listed in Part I of
Third, Fourth or Fifth Schedule |
Minister |
|
(23)
|
33(3) |
Power to appoint Operating Officer of
a joint authority established under section 30 of the Act |
Secretary |
|
(24)
|
Section
34(3) |
Power to decide membership of a joint authority and appoint
nominees of the Government |
Minister |
|
(25)
|
Section
35(1)(b) |
Power to decide proportion in which expenses of a
joint authority shall be defrayed by constituting local governments |
Secretary |
|
(26)
|
Section
35(2) |
Power to appoint officer as arbitrator for apportioning expenses of a joint authority established |
Secretary |
|
(27)
|
Section
37(1)(c), (2) |
Power to dissolve a joint authority |
Minister |
|
(28)
|
Section
38(2) |
Power to decide disputes relating to succession of
a joint authority |
Secretary
or an officer authorized by him |
|
(29)
|
Section
42(1)(d) & (g) |
Power to receive performance reports from head of
local government and assign any other duty to him |
Secretary |
|
(30)
|
Section
45(4) |
Power to issue specific directions to a Chief
Officer |
Secretary |
|
(31)
|
Section
47(1)(a), (2) |
Power to receive and decide any reference of the
Chief Officer in respect of an illegal resolution, order or instruction of
the local government |
Secretary |
|
(32)
|
Section
51(2), (3) |
Power to specify nature or pecuniary limits of
contracts which shall not be made, varied or discharged without approval of
council and confirmation of such approval by an authorized officer |
Secretary |
|
(33)
|
Section
57(2) |
Power to authorize an officer to preside first
meeting of the council |
Minister
|
|
(34)
|
Section
64(4) |
Power to allow record of meeting to which public
is excluded from attendance to be open for inspection |
Secretary |
|
(35)
|
Section
65(2) |
Disqualification of a head of the local
government, convenor or councillor for violation of section any provision of
section 74(1) |
Chief
Minister |
|
(36)
|
Section
67(2), 74 and 310 |
Power to prescribe bye-laws if local government
fails to do so |
Minister |
|
(37)
|
Section
78(2) |
Power to receive report on elections and certain
other matters from Election Commission |
Secretary |
|
(38)
|
Section
85(1) |
Power to request Election Commission to review and
reconstitute an electoral unit |
Chief
Minister |
|
(39)
|
Section
91(1) |
Power to consult election commission for fixing
dates for election under this Act |
Chief
Minister |
|
(40)
|
Section
106 |
Notification of election, resignation and removal
of a councillor in official gazette |
Secretary |
|
(41)
|
Section
111(2) |
Power to approach Election Commission to seek
disqualification of a candidate from contesting an election or a councillor
from holding office on being found to be disqualified to be a candidate or
councillor |
Secretary
or an officer authorized by him |
|
(42)
|
Section
113(2) |
Power to fix the date for first meeting of the
Councils |
Minister |
|
(43)
|
Section
114(3) |
Notification of assumption of office by a
councillor |
Secretary |
|
(44)
|
Section
115 |
Power to call for and receive declaration of
assets from councillors |
Secretary |
|
(45)
|
Section
116(3) |
Power to make a complaint to Election Commission
on failure to take oath or submit required declarations |
Secretary |
|
(46)
|
Section
117 |
Power to receive intimation of resignation from
office by a councillor and declare vacancy |
Secretary |
|
(47)
|
Section
118 |
Power to consult with Election Commission of
Pakistan for calling fresh elections where office of the head of the local
government falls vacant |
Chief
Minister |
|
(48)
|
Section
121 |
Power to appoint an administrator pending
elections |
Chief
Minister |
|
(49)
|
Section
122(2)(b) |
Power
to allow establishment of a special fund |
Secretary
in charge of Finance Department |
|
(50)
|
Section 123(1) (l) |
Power to place additional sources of income at the
disposal of a local government |
Cabinet |
|
(51)
|
Section
124(1)(c) |
Power to declare certain expenditure to be an
appropriate charge on the local government |
Secretary
|
|
(52)
|
Section
127(1) |
Power to appoint banks for custody of local,
public and other funds of local governments |
Secretary
in charge of Finance Department |
|
(53)
|
Section
128(1)(d) |
Power to declare any other manner for investment
of surplus funds of local governments |
Chief
Minister |
|
(54)
|
Section
129 |
Power to take cognizance of wrongful application
of moneys by a local government |
Secretary |
|
(55)
|
Section
131(6) |
Power to approve estimates of receipt and
expenditure if local government fails to do so |
Secretary |
|
(56)
|
Section
132(1) |
Power to certify estimates of receipts and
expenditure in case of failure of the council and head of the local
government of the local government to approve it |
Secretary
with the permission of Minister |
|
(57)
|
Section
134 |
Power to readjust income and expenditure of a local
government in case of failure of head or the council to do so |
Secretary |
|
(58)
|
Section
136 |
Power to fix minimum expenditure requirements
towards a public service on recommendation of Finance Commission |
Secretary |
|
(59)
|
Section
137(1) |
Power to review estimates of receipts and
expenditures approved by a local government |
Secretary |
|
(60)
|
Section
139, 140 |
Power to sanction borrowing of money by a local
government and method of raising loan |
Minister
on recommendation of Secretary in charge of Finance Department |
|
(61)
|
Section
141 |
Power to establish Local Development Fund and
determine contributions by local governments to the Local Development Fund |
Chief
Minister |
|
(62)
|
Section
143(1)(a) |
Power to allow application of sums borrowed by a
local government to a purpose other than the purpose for which these sums
were initially borrowed |
Chief
Minister on recommendation of Secretary in charge of Finance Department |
|
(63)
|
Section
144(2) |
Power to allow resettlement of period and terms of
payment of moneys borrowed by a local government |
Minister
on the recommendation of Secretary in charge of Finance Department |
|
(64)
|
Section
145(2) |
Power to allow a local government to discontinue
further payments into a sinking fund
when sums standing at its credit are sufficient to meet repayment
requirements |
Minister
on the recommendation of Secretary in charge of Finance Department |
|
(65)
|
Section
146 |
Power
to appoint a deposit taking institution or prescribe any other manner for
investing sums of sinking fund |
Secretary
in charge Finance Department |
|
(66)
|
Section
147 |
Power to permit gradual readjustment of deficient
amounts in sinking fund by a local government and also resolve the dispute of
local government with respect to
certification of the account by Auditor General |
Secretary
in charge of Finance |
|
(67)
|
Section
148(1) |
Power to attach local fund of a local government
in default of repayment of loan |
Minister
on recommendation of Secretary in charge of Finance Department |
|
(68)
|
Section
149(2) |
Power to call for and receive annual statement of
moneys borrowed by a local government |
Secretary,
and Secretary in charge of Finance Department |
|
(69)
|
Section
150(1)(k) |
Power to vest properties in a local government |
Cabinet |
|
(70)
|
Section
152(1) |
Power to allow sale or permanent alienation of
local government properties |
Cabinet |
|
(71)
|
Section
153(1), (2) |
Power to resume a property vested in a local
government |
Cabinet |
|
(72)
|
Section
160(2) |
Power to suspend levy
of an unfair or excessive tax, fee, rate, toll or other charge |
Secretary |
|
(73)
|
Section
173(1) |
Power
to appoint any agency or officer for collection of local tax |
Chief
Minister |
|
(74)
|
Section
174 |
Power to establish Finance Commission |
Chief
Minister |
|
(75)
|
Section
175(4) |
Power to prematurely remove certain members of
Finance Commission |
Chief
Minister |
|
(76)
|
Section
176(1) |
Power to appoint members against casual vacancies
occurring in Finance Commission |
Chief
Minister |
|
(77)
|
Section
180(4) |
Power to call for and receive a report on fiscal
performance of local governments |
Secretary |
|
(78)
|
Section
185 (1) |
Power to set aside provincial allocable amounts |
Cabinet |
|
(79)
|
Section
186 |
Power to establish formulae for determination of
shares inter se local governments |
Cabinet |
|
(80)
|
Section
187 |
Power
to make submission to Finance
Commission in relation to formulae for determination of shares inter se local governments |
Minister,
Secretary |
|
(81)
|
Section
192 |
Power to call for and receive statement of
accounts of a local government |
Secretary |
|
(82)
|
Section
193 (1) |
Power to call for and receive monthly abstract of
accounts of a local government |
Secretary |
|
(83)
|
Section
195 |
Power
to direct extra-ordinary audits of a
local government |
Minister,
Secretary |
|
(84)
|
Section
196(1) |
Power to call for and receive audit reports |
Secretary |
|
(85)
|
Section
197(2), (3) |
Power
to call for and receive report from local government on action taken upon the
audit report and order remediation of
defects |
Secretary |
|
(86)
|
Section
199(3) |
Power to authorize officers for making complaint
in respect of an offence under section 199 of this Act |
Chief
Minister |
|
(87)
|
Section
200 (1), (3) |
Power to pass instruction as to display of
statement of accounts and audit reports for public view, book of objections
and suggestions, and call for objections and suggestions from local
government |
Secretary |
|
(88)
|
Section
201 (1), (2) |
Power to determine audit fees to be paid by local
governments |
Secretary
in consultation with Secretary in charge of Finance Department |
|
(89)
|
Section
202(6) |
Power
to issue notice of special meeting of the council to consider removal of head
of the local government in case of failure of convenor to convene such
meeting |
Secretary
or an officer authorized by him |
|
(90)
|
Section
207 |
Power
to establish Inspectorate of Local
Governments |
Chief
Minister |
|
(91)
|
Section
208 (1) |
Power to call for and receive inspection reports
from Inspector General |
Secretary |
|
(92)
|
Section
209(1) |
Power to require special inspections and call for
and receive inspection reports |
Minister,
Secretary |
|
(93)
|
Section
211 |
Power
to call for and receive report on action taken by local governments on inspection report and decide any matter referred to
him by a local government or Inspector General in relation to the report |
Secretary |
|
(94)
|
Section
212(3) |
Power to notify duties of local governments
towards residents of local area. |
Minister |
|
(95)
|
Section
219 |
Power to prescribe Code of Conduct for councillors
and officers etc. of local governments |
Minister |
|
(96)
|
Section
221(1)(d) |
Power
to direct matters in respect of which local government shall act through a
written order |
Secretary |
|
(97)
|
Section
223 |
Power to exercise general supervision and control
over local governments to ensure that they act in public interest and perform
their functions strictly in accordance with law |
Minister,
Secretary |
|
(98)
|
Section
224(1)(d) |
Power
to authorize officers for calling in
question the legality of an order etc. of local government. |
Chief
Minister |
|
(99)
|
Section
224(2) |
Power
to receive and decide complaint calling in question legality of an order etc.
of local government |
Secretary |
|
(100)
|
Section
225 |
Power to authorize officers to attend local
government meetings etc. |
Chief
Minister |
|
(101)
|
Section
226(1) |
Power to call for information from a local
government |
Secretary |
|
(102)
|
Section
227(1) |
Power to hold inquiry into affairs of a local
government |
Minister,
Secretary |
|
(103)
|
Section
228 |
Power
to suspend certain resolutions or
orders and prohibit certain actions by local government |
Secretary |
|
(104)
|
Section
229(1), (2) |
Power to require a local government to take action |
Secretary |
|
(105)
|
Section
230(1) |
Power to withhold transfer of moneys, or impose
fine on a local government in case of failure to take action on directions of
the Government |
Minister |
|
(106)
|
Section
230(2) |
Power to initiate proceedings for removal of a
councillor other than a convenor or head of the local government for failure
to take action on the directions of the Government |
Minister |
|
(107)
|
Section
230(2) |
Power to initiate proceedings for removal of a
head of the local government or convenor for failure to take action on
directions of the Government |
Chief
Minister |
|
(108)
|
Section
231(1) |
Power to the head of the local government to take
action within a specified period |
Secretary |
|
(109)
|
Section
231(2) |
Power to appoint an officer to take action where
the head of the local government fails to take action within a specified
period |
Chief
Minister |
|
(110)
|
Section
232 |
Power
to initiate proceedings for suspension or removal of a councillor other than
a head of the local government or a convenor |
Minister |
|
(111)
|
Section
232 |
Power
to initiate proceedings for suspension or removal of a head of the local
government or a convenor |
Chief
Minister |
|
(112)
|
Section
232 |
Power
to suspend a councillor not being a head of the local government or a convenor
on account of corruption, gross excess in use of his authority, or conviction
in a crime involving moral turpitude |
Minister |
|
(113)
|
Section
232 |
Power
to suspend a head of the local government or a convenor on account of
corruption, gross excess in use of his authority, or conviction in a crime
involving moral turpitude |
Chief
Minister |
|
(114)
|
Section
233(1) |
Power
to initiate proceedings for suspension or dissolution of a council |
Chief
Minister |
|
(115)
|
Section
233(3) |
Power
to suspend or dissolve a council |
Chief
Minister |
|
(116)
|
Section
234 |
Power
to appoint an officer or authority for exercising powers and perform duties
and functions of the local government and its funds and properties and to
call for fresh elections under this Act |
Chief
Minister |
|
(117)
|
Section
235 |
Power
to reinstate a suspended head of the
local government or convenor |
Chief
Minister |
|
(118)
|
Section
235 |
Power
to reinstate a suspended councillor
other than being the head of the local government or convenor |
Minister |
|
(119)
|
Section
237, 238 |
Power to establish the Commission and fixing
remuneration of members |
Chief
Minister |
|
(120)
|
Section
239(2) |
Power to prematurely remove certain members of the
Commission |
Chief
Minister |
|
(121)
|
Section
240(1) |
Power to fill casual vacancies in the Commission |
Chief
Minister |
|
(122)
|
Section
248 |
Power to fix number of officers and staff of
Secretariat of the Commission |
Chief
Minister |
|
(123)
|
Section
249(5) |
Power
to receive and decide a reference from Deputy Commissioner |
Secretary |
|
(124)
|
Section
250(4) |
Power
to decide a reference against decision of Deputy Commissioner in respect of a
dispute between two or more local governments or a local government and a
provincial or federal agency |
Secretary |
|
(125)
|
Section
251(2) |
Power to prescribe form and manner of submission
of local development plan |
Secretary |
|
(126)
|
Section
252 (2)(g) |
Power to initiate proposals for new works etc. |
Secretary
or any officer authorized by him |
|
(127)
|
Section
252 (4) |
Power to determine value of a work maintenance, repair and renewing of an
existing facility below which provisions of this section do not apply |
Secretary
in consultation with Secretary in charge of Planning and Development
Department |
|
(128)
|
Section
254(1) |
Power to prepare and approve annual development
plan if local government fails to do so |
Secretary
with the permission of Minister |
|
(129)
|
Section
256(1), (3) |
Power to issue planning guidelines |
Chief Minister |
|
(130)
|
Section
257(1) |
Power to establish Local Planning Board |
Chief
Minister |
|
(131)
|
Section
259(1) |
Power to specify timeline for drawing up a land
use plan |
Minister |
|
(132)
|
Section
281 |
Power
to appoint officers for hearing appeal against order of enforcement officer |
Chief
Minister |
|
(133)
|
Section
283 |
Power
to appointment of Enforcement Officers. |
Chief
Minister |
|
(134)
|
Section
285 |
Power
to appoint Special Judicial Magistrate in consultation with Lahore High Court |
Chief
Minister |
|
[84][(135) |
********* |
**************************** |
***********] |
|
(135)
|
Section
294 |
Power to fix number and description of officers
and servants of local governments |
Chief
Minister |
|
(136)
|
Section
295 |
Power to specify officers of the local government,
other than the Chief Officer, who shall have an ordinary tenure of not less
than two years |
Chief
Minister |
|
(137)
|
Section
297(2) |
Power
to specify functional groups within Local Council Service |
Secretary
with the permission of Minister |
|
(138)
|
Section
299(3) |
Appointment
of Secretary of the Board |
Chief
Minister |
|
(139)
|
Section
300(2) |
Power
to apportion expenditure of the Board among local governments |
Secretary
with the permission of Minister |
|
(140)
|
Section
303 |
Power to approve remuneration, honorarium and
allowance etc. for councillors |
Cabinet |
|
(141)
|
Section
304 (3) |
Power to direct certain information with the local
government shall be displayed at a prominent place within the premises of the
office of the local government for access by citizens |
Secretary |
|
(142)
|
Section
305 |
Power
to direct training of councillors |
Secretary |
|
(143)
|
Section
313 |
Power
to amend fines for offences given in Fifteenth Schedule or add or remove an
offence and in the former case, set the fines for that offence |
Cabinet |
|
(144)
|
Section
314 |
Power
to remove difficulties arising in giving effect to the provisions of this Act |
Chief
Minister |
[1]This Act
was passed by the Punjab Assembly on 30 April 2019; assented to by the Governor
of the Punjab on 3 May 2019; and was published in the Punjab Gazette
(Extraordinary), dated 4 May 2019, pages 3135-3242.
[2]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(i) ‘census’
means population and housing census taken by the Government of Pakistan under
the Census Ordinance, 1959 (X of 1959);”
[3] The
following clause omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“(t) ‘corrupt
practice’ means involvement of a head of the local government, convenor,
councillor, officer or servant of a local government in corruption and includes
any of the following:
(i)
coercive practice
by impairing or harming, or threatening to impair or harm, directly or
indirectly, any party or the property of the party to influence the actions of
a party to achieve a wrongful gain or to cause a wrongful loss to another
party;
(ii)
collusive practice
by arrangement between two or more parties to the procurement process or
contract execution, designed to achieve with or without the knowledge of the
procuring agency to establish prices at artificial, non-competitive levels for
any wrongful gain;
(iii)
offering, giving,
receiving or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to
influence the acts of another party for wrongful gain;
(iv)
any act or
omission, including a misrepresentation, that knowingly or recklessly misleads,
or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain a financial or other benefit or to
avoid an obligation;
(v)
obstructive
practice by harming or threatening to harm, directly or indirectly, persons or
their property to influence their participation in a procurement process, or
affect the execution of a contract or deliberately destroying, falsifying,
altering or concealing of evidence material to the investigation or making
false statements before investigators in order to materially impede an
investigation into allegations of a corrupt, fraudulent, coercive or collusive
practice; or threatening, harassing or intimidating any party to prevent it
from disclosing its knowledge of matters relevant to the investigation or from
pursuing the investigation, or acts
intended to materially impede the exercise of inspection and audit process.”
[4]Inserted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[5]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(bb) ‘electoral group’ means two or more candidates, not being the
candidates of a political party, or two or more political parties, who contest
elections under this Act on a joint slate for a shared concern for public
purpose in relation to the affairs of a local government and are registered as
such with the Election Commission;”.
[6]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(cc) ‘electoral
officer’ means an officer appointed for an election under this Act and includes
Presiding Officer, Polling Officer and Assistant Polling Officer;”.
[7]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(dd) ‘electoral
roll’ means a roll of all eligible voters in an electoral unit prepared under
section 87 of this Act;”.
[8]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(ii) ‘government agency’ means an office or
entity of the government;”.
[9]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the following:
“(jj) ‘Government’
means the Government of the Punjab and in relation to the exercise of any
authority vested in it under this Act shall mean the authority mentioned in
section 306 of this Act;”.
[10] Inserted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[11]
Substituted for the words “one year” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment)
Act 2020 (XI of 2020).
[12]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(3) The Government may require a local
government to take such measures, or not to act or do anything, or to run its
affairs, or to incur expenditure in a manner as is likely to further the
objectives of section 5 of this Act.”.
[13]Substituted
for the figure “112” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV
of 2019).
[14]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(3) Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection (2), where the Government considers that it is not
in the public interest to postpone this matter any further, it may, at any
time, make an order under subsection (1).”
[15]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(2) When,
as a result of such division, amalgamation or re-classification, a new local
government is constituted or the limits of a local area are altered under
section 14 of this Act:-
(a)
the existing head
of the local government, convenor and councillors of a local government which
is divided, amalgamated or re-classified shall become the head of the local
government, convenor and councillors of such new, reconstituted or
re-classified local government as the Government may, by an order, specify as
if each of such head of the local government, convenor and councillors had been
elected to that local government; and
(b)
the new,
reconstituted or re-classified local government shall, to the extent and in the
manner ordered by the Government, succeed the local government so divided,
amalgamated or reconstituted.”.
[16]Substituted
for the figure “112” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV
of 2019).
[17]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(4) Notwithstanding
the provisions of subsection (3), where the Government considers that it will
not be in the public interest to postpone this matter any further, it may, at
any time, make an order under subsection (1).”.
[18]Substituted
for the words “of the commencement of this Act” by the Punjab Local Government
(Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[19]Substituted
for the figure “25” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV
of 2019).
[20]Substituted
for the word “bye-law” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[21]Substituted
for the word “bye-law” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[22]Substituted
for the word “bye-law” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[23]Substituted
for the word “bye-law” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[24]Substituted
for the words “between its head of the local government of the local government
and the heads of the then constituting local governments of that joint
authority.” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[25]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(3) All
record indicating the number of votes secured by a contesting political party,
electoral group and, as the case may be, any other candidate to an election
under this Act shall be safely kept by the Election Commission for not less
than five years commencing from the date on which it is held.”.
[26]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“77. Duty of
Election Commission to consider certain matters brought to its notice.– (1) Any political party, electoral
group or a candidate may, at any time, make a representation, objection or
suggestion to the Election Commission or bring any information to their notice
on any matter of general importance relating to an election under this Act.
(2) The Election Commission shall consider every
representation, objection, suggestion made and information brought before it
under subsection (1) and decide whether and to what extent they shall act on
it.
(3) The Election Commission shall convey all
decisions under subsection (2) to the political party, electoral group or a
candidate referred to in subsection (1).”.
[27]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“81. Delegation
of powers etc.– The Election Commission may delegate any of its functions
or powers in relation to elections under this Act upon such officers of the
Government as it consider fit.”.
[28]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(6) In
addition to the candidate for the office of the head of the local government, a
political party or an electoral group may also appoint one or more candidates
for election to the seats of general councillors and seats reserved for women,
religious minorities, peasants and, as the case may be, workers.”.
[29]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(7) Where
a political party or an electoral group appoints two or more candidates for an
election under this Act, all such persons including the candidates for the
office of the head of the local government, shall contest on the same ballot.”.
[30]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(8) Where
a political party or an electoral group appoints more than one candidates for
election to a seat of the councillor, it shall do so on a list indicating the
ranking order in which such candidates will be elected on the basis of votes
obtained by that political party or electoral group.”.
[31]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(b) appointing
as many candidates to the seats of various description of councillors in excess
of the number of such seats provided for the respective council under section
20 of this Act as it may deem necessary to provide for rejection of the
candidates under section 92 of this Act, or for filling casual vacancies during
the term of the council for any reason under section 119 of this Act.”.
[32] The
following subsection omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act
2019 (XXXV of 2019):
“(11) Nothing
contained in this section shall preclude the right of any person who is not on
the list of a political party or an electoral group to contest an election for
any office under this Act.”.
[33]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(3) The
electoral units constituted under this section shall remain valid for every
subsequent election under this Act unless altered or rescinded by the Election
Commission subsequent to a review under section 85 of this Act.”.
[34]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“85. Review
and reconstitution of electoral units.– (1) The Election Commission shall
reconstitute one or more electoral units, existing for the time being, when as
a result of an order by the Government under section 14 or, as the case may be,
section 17 of this Act:
(a)
the limits of a local area to which the electoral units
relate are extended, curtailed or otherwise altered;
(b)
where a new local area is created or an existing local
area to which the electoral units relate is abolished; or
(c)
a local area to which the electoral units relate is
re-classified.
(2) The
Election Commission shall consider every request of the Government, the Commission
or a candidate to the relevant election for the review of an existing electoral
unit and depending upon its determination on the existence of such need, may
reconstitute that electoral unit.
(3) The
provisions of section 86 of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the
re-constitution of electoral units under this section.”.
[35] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“86. Procedure
for constitution of electoral units.– (1) The limits of an electoral unit
shall be determined by a delimitation officer, appointed by the Election
Commission from amongst its officers or officers in the service of Pakistan.
(2) For the purpose of this section, the
delimitation officer shall:
a.
make public notice of the proposal to carry out
delimitation;
b.
take such steps, as he thinks fit, to ensure that all
such persons who may be interested in the delimitation are informed of any
draft recommendation or any interim decision or any other such order and of the
place and places where those recommendations, decisions or orders can be
inspected;
c.
consider and decide every objection, representation or
suggestion made to him in relation to the delimitation within the period
specified for this purpose
(3) The delimitation of an electoral unit made by
the delimitation officer shall be finalized by the Election Commission after
hearing any objections or suggestions made to it within the period specified
for this purpose.
(4) For the purpose of this section the
delimitation officers shall work under the superintendence, control and
direction of the Election Commission.”.
[36]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“87. Electoral
rolls.– (1) At least thirty days prior to the date fixed for an election
under this Act, the Election Commission shall, in the prescribed manner,
prepare a roll of all eligible voters for every electoral unit, hereinafter
called the electoral roll.
(2) A separate electoral roll shall be
prepared for voters belonging to the religious minorities in every electoral
unit.
(3) An electoral roll prepared under this
section shall not be invalid merely by reason of any erroneous description in
the electoral roll of any person enrolled or registered thereon or of omission
of the name of any person entitled to be so enrolled or registered or inclusion
of the name of any person not so entitled.”.
[37] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“88. Electoral rolls to be open to inspection and
purchase.– Copies of every
electoral roll shall be open to inspection by public and shall also be
available for purchase at a reasonable price at such place and during such
timings as the Election Commission may direct.”.
[38] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“89. Right to enrolment as a voter.– (1) A person shall be entitled to be
enrolled as a voter in an electoral unit if he is:-
(a) for the time being, a
citizen of Pakistan
(b) not less than eighteen
years of age on the first day of January in the year in which the preparation
of electoral roll commences under this Act.
(c) not declared by a
competent court to be of unsound mind; and
(d) a resident in that
electoral unit.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a person
shall be deemed to be resident in an electoral unit if he ordinarily resides,
or owns or is in possession of a dwelling house or other immovable property in
that area.
(3) Where a person owns or possesses dwelling
houses or other immovable property in more than one electoral units, he may, at
his option, be enrolled in any one of such area.
(4) Where a person is detained in a prison or
held in other custody at any place in Pakistan, he shall be deemed to be resident
in the electoral unit in which he, at his option, would have been resident if
he had not been so detained or held in such custody.”.
[39]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(2) Subject
to the provisions of subsection (3), a person eligible to cast a vote under
subsection (1), shall have the right to cast only one vote for the election to
the offices of the head of the local government and councillors to the general
seats and seats reserved for women, peasants and workers whether his name
appears on the electoral roll of the same electoral unit for more than once, or
his name appears on electoral rolls of two or more electoral units.”.
[40]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(2) Every
person contesting an election under this Act shall be nominated by:
a.
in case he is contesting on the slate of a political
party or an electoral group, by that political party or, as the case may be,
electoral group;
b. in case he is
contesting as an independent candidate, by not less than three voters of the
relevant electoral unit.”.
[41]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(3) All
nominations under this section shall be made in the prescribed form and shall
be accompanied by such deposits as the Election Commission may from time to
time order.”.
[42]Substituted
for the words “Election Commission” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment)
Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[43]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(5) No
person nominated as a candidate shall contest elections unless, he is, in the
opinion of the Election Commission, properly nominated and eligible for being a
candidate for the relevant election.”.
[44]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“93. Polling
stations and appointment of electoral officers.– The Election Commission
shall, in the prescribed manner, set up such number of polling stations and
polling booths as may be required for an election under this Act and also
appoint, from amongst the persons in the service of Pakistan, such number of
electoral officers as it consider appropriate for such election.”.
[45]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(1) Every
political party, electoral group and independent candidate to an election under
this Act shall have the right to appoint one election agent for the entire
electoral unit and one polling agent for each polling booth at every polling
station in the electoral unit from where that political party, electoral group
or independent candidate is contesting.”.
[46] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“95. Rights
and power of an election agent or polling agent.– (1) Subject to other
provisions of this Act, every election agent or a polling agent appointed under
section 94 of this Act shall have the right to be present at the polling
station and other places or premises which are used for issuance and
distribution of ballot papers or examination and counting of votes:
(a)
at all times during the
issuance, distribution of ballot papers;
(b)
before and at all times when
the votes are cast; and
(c)
at all times during the
examination or counting of votes.
(2) Subject
to other provisions of this Act, an election agent or a polling agent may,
among other things object to the decision of an electoral officer at the
polling station with respect to entitlement of a person to vote, object to the
acceptance or rejection of a ballot paper, and make record of the details of
persons voting and remove this record from the polling station.”.
[47]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(3) Where, two
or more political parties or electoral groups in an electoral unit secure equal
number of votes, fresh elections may be called.”.
[48]Substituted
for the words “an electoral officer appointed in this behalf by the Election
Commission” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[49]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“98. Election to be called in question only
before Election Tribunal within forty-five days of declaration of results.–
(1) No election under this Act shall be called in question except through an
election petition made to the Election Tribunal constituted under section 99 of
this Act by a candidate to that election.
(2) No election petition under this section
shall be admitted for hearing by an Election Tribunal unless it is made within
forty-five days of publication in the official gazette of the name of a candidate
returned under section 97 of this Act. ”.
[50] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“99. Election
Tribunal.– (1) Not
less than thirty days prior to the date fixed for an election under section 91
of this Act, the Election Commission shall, through an order published
in the official gazette, appoint an Election Tribunal for one or more electoral
units as may be specified in that order, for the hearing of election petition
made under section 98 of this Act.
(2) Every Election Tribunal shall consist of three or
five members appointed by the Election Commission from amongst the persons in
the service of Pakistan out of whom not less than one shall be, for the time
being, a Judge or a retired Judge of the High Court.”
[51] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“100.
Powers of the Election Tribunal.– An
Election Tribunal shall, for the purpose of this Act, have all the powers of a
civil court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of
1908) and shall be deemed to be a Court within the meaning of sections 480 and
482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898).”
[52] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“101. Procedure for hearing of an election petition.– Subject
to the provisions of this Act, every election petition shall be made, heard and
decided in the prescribed manner.”
[53] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“102. Decision of Election Tribunal and right of appeal.– (1) An
Election Tribunal may, after having considered all relevant matters
appertaining to an election petition, make any one of the following order,
namely:-
(a) dismissing that petition;
(b) declaring the election of returned candidate
to be void in terms of section 103 of this Act;
(c) declaring the election of returned candidate
to be void and the petitioner or any other contesting candidate to have been
duly elected; or
(d) declaring the election as a whole to be void
in terms of section 105 of this Act.
(2) Every decision of an Election Tribunal under
subsection (1) shall:
(a) take effect from the date on which it is
made; and
(b) be forthwith communicated to the Election
Commission.
(3) All decisions of an Election Tribunal shall
be expressed in terms of the opinion of the majority of its members.
(4) An
Election Tribunal shall decide every election petition made before it in not
more than one hundred and twenty days from the date of its making.
(5) Any
person aggrieved with the final decision of an Election Tribunal may, within
thirty days of the decision appeal to the High Court and the decision of the
High Court in this respect shall be final and shall not be called in question
before any court or before any other authority on any ground whatsoever.”
[54] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“103. Ground for declaring the election of a returned candidate void.– (1) The
Election Tribunal shall declare the election of a returned candidate to be void
if it is satisfied that:-
(a)
the nomination of
the returned candidate was invalid; or
(b)
the returned
candidate was not, on the nomination day, eligible for being elected as a
member; or
(c)
the election of the
returned candidate has been procured or induced by any corrupt or illegal
practice or a corrupt or illegal practice has been committed by the returned
candidate or his election agent or by any other person with the connivance of
the candidate or his election agent.
(2) The election of a returned candidate shall not
be declared void merely on the ground that:-
(a)
any corrupt or
illegal practice has been committed, if the Election Tribunal is satisfied that
it was not committed by, or with the consent or connivance of that candidate or
his election agent and that the candidate and the election agent took all
reasonable precaution to prevent its commission; or
(b)
that any of the
other contesting candidates was, on the nomination day, not qualified for being
elected as a member.
Explanation: For the purpose of
this section, the terms corrupt or illegal practice shall mean to include the
breach of one or more of the prohibitions specified under sections 261, 262,
263, 264, 267 and 268 of this of this Act.”
[55] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“104. Declaration of a person other than a returned candidate as elected.– The
Election Tribunal may in such cases where it after hearing a petition under
section 98 of this Act determines that an election of a returned candidate is
void, declare the petitioner or any other contesting candidate to have been
duly elected if it is so claimed by the petitioner or any of the respondents
and the Election Tribunal is satisfied that the petitioner or such contesting
candidate was entitled to be declared elected.”
[56] The
following section omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
“105. Declaration of an election as a whole void.– The
Election Tribunal shall declare an election as a whole to be void if it is
satisfied that the result of the election has been materially affected by
reason of a gross failure of any person to comply with the provisions of this
Act or the rules, or the prevalence of extensive corrupt or illegal practice at
that election.
Explanation: For the purpose of
this section, the terms corrupt or illegal practice shall mean to include the
breach of one or more of the prohibitions specified under sections 261, 262,
263, 264, 267 and 268 of this Act.”.
[57]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“106.
Notification of election, resignation and removal of the head of the local
government, convenor and councillors.– Every election, resignation or
removal of a head of the local government, convenor and councillor, or the
vacation of office by him shall be notified by the Government in the official
gazette.”.
[58]Substituted
for the words “the Election Commission may from time to time specify” by the
Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[59]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(a) he is not
eligible or becomes ineligible to be enrolled as a voter under section 89 of
this Act;”.
[60]Substituted
for the word “councilor” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[61]Substituted
for the word “councilor” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[62]Substituted
for the word “councilor” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[63]Inserted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[64]Inserted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[65]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(3) On receipt
of his resignation, the Government shall by an order declare the office of the
resigning head of the local government, convenor or, as the case may be,
councillor to be vacant from the date of receipt of resignation by the Chief
Officer.”.
[66]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019), for the
following:
“(2) A person who has a conflict of interest as defined under section
216 of this Act shall not preside over or take part, in any manner, in
the considerations or discussion or, or to vote on any question with respect to
the contract, proposed contract or any other matter in respect of which his
conflict of interest exists.
Explanation: For the
purpose of this section ‘gain’ shall mean to include any form of enrichment,
benefit or advantage whatsoever which may have accrued to or been acquired by
or which may accrue to or be acquired by the person or his immediate relatives,
or an employer or employee.”.
[67]Inserted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[68]Inserted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[69] The
comma omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of
2019).
[70]Substituted
for the words “as the government may” by the Punjab Local Government
(Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[71]Substituted
for the words “The commission” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act
2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[72]Substituted
for the words “appointed by the government” by the Punjab Local Government
(Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[73]Substituted
for the expression “Government, may” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment)
Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[74]Substituted
for the word “Service” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[75]Substituted
for the word “officer” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019).
[76]Substituted
for the words “local government in the Punjab” by the Punjab Local Government
(Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[77]Substituted
for the words “as the government may” by the Punjab Local Government
(Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[78]Substituted
for the word “seize” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV
of 2019).
[79]Substituted
for the words “twenty-five thousand” by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment)
Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019).
[80] The following entry omitted by the Punjab Local
Government (Amendment) Act 2021 (XII of 2021):
“(k) Fee for licensing of professions or
vocations as may be prescribed;”
[81] The following entry omitted by the Punjab Local
Government (Amendment) Act 2021 (XII of 2021):
“(v) Fee for licensing of professions or
vocations as prescribed;”
[82] The following entry omitted by the Punjab Local
Government (Amendment) Act 2021 (XII of 2021):
“(o) Fee for licensing of professions or
vocations as prescribed; and”
[83]Substituted
by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019 (XXXV of 2019); for the
following:
“(a) Where the
head of the local government, convenor or, as the case may be, councillor is
corrupt or involves himself in a corrupt practice within the meaning of clause
(t) and (u) of section 2 of this Act or under any other law for the time being
in force;”
[84] The
following entry omitted by the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2019
(XXXV of 2019):
|
“(135) |
Section
294 |
Power to fix number and description of officers
and servants of the local government |
Chief
Minister” |