PESHAWAR, Nov 22: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will begin the delimitation process next week for local body elections in the province and complete it within three to four months, while the electoral exercise is likely to take place in March next year.

This was stated by the provincial Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan while speaking at the ‘Meet the Press’ programme of Peshawar Press Club on Friday.

The minister said efforts had been made to hold local body elections at the earliest but the exact timeframe for it couldn’t be given due to the delimitation process.

He said the local body elections would be held on party basis at tehsil and district levels and on non-party basis at village council level.

Mr Inayatullah said the government was taking quick measures for holding local body elections but it could be difficult to make arrangements for it as per schedule as the delimitation process would begin next week and would take three to four month to complete mainly due to snowfall in hilly areas of the province.

He said the local government department had got the Local Government Bill 2013 passed by the provincial assembly a few weeks ago, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor had also promised to extend it to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

“It’s a big achievement of the provincial government,” he said.

The minister said all necessary efforts had been made to ensure transparency in the award of contracts of development projects.

He said the revenue of the local government department had increased 50 per cent to Rs2.15 billion during the current fiscal.

“The department’s financial position has gotten stronger as it has happened in a short span of time due to transparency of the system,” he said.

Mr Inayatullah said his department had not given approval to some contracts due to poor interest of companies and that details of contracts awarded would be posted on its website soon to ensure transparency in the exercise.

He said a campaign had already been launched for removal of encroachments and illegal fruit and vegetable markets, while clean and green campaign had also been initiated for the beautification of the provincial capital.

The minister stressed the need for introducing a vibrant plan to cope with the growing issues of traffic, cleanliness, sanitation, drinking water and revival of cultural heritage in the walled city.

He said Rs1.5 billion had been earmarked for the purpose in the Annual Development Programme for fiscal year 2013-14.

“We have planned to begin a four-month clean and green campaign in Peshawar from February to April to restore the city’s lost beauty,” he said.

Mr Inayatullah said the government would put in place a proper system for the early redressal of public grievances.

When asked about lack of cleanliness in the provincial capital, he said garbage dumping at open places, especially by the roads, was the biggest issue of the city as there was no suitable place available to properly dispose of rubbish.

He said two sites had been identified as a garbage dumping site but a decision in this respect had yet to be made.

The minister said his department had terminated around 80 people from service, including employees of lower grades, over appointments on political grounds during the last government’s term.

He said future appointment of officials in higher grades would be made through the National Testing Service examination.

Mr Inayatullah said the government was committed to eradicating corruption and introducing a merit-based system so that the deserving people could get the rights.