SWABI, Dec 29: District council members on Saturday rejected the imposition of new taxes on the oppressed locals and unanimously demanded the payment of honoraria from the district provincial fund or abolish it.

Council Convener Mohammad Jamil told the house that the NWFP government in its earlier directive had said that all the members would be paid from the district provincial fund. But another letter, addressed to the district Nazim issued on Dec 11 2001, said that except for the district Nazims, the honoraria and other allowances to district Naib Nazims, Tehsil Nazims and Naib Nazims, and union council Nazims and Naib Nazims would be paid from their respective local funds.

Many members refused to take honoraria if would not be paid from the provincial budget. They argued that Rs100,000 had been allocated for each union council as development and non-development expenditures. If they received amount from the funds only Rs15,000 would be left for the uplift projects, they added.

Some of them stated the bureaucracy wanted to differentiate between the Nazims and councillors, which could result in failure of the local bodies system.

They rejected to impose new taxes in their respective union councils. “ We can not favour heavy taxes on oppressed people who have elected us. It will further worsen their condition”, they said.

The members belonged to the Gadoon belt said that neither the area was commercial nor developed to extract taxes from the poor. Members of municipal committee said there was no room left for new levies as the government had already imposed various taxes.

They also demanded the fixation of honoraria for district/ tehsil lady councillors.