RAWALPINDI: Two new towns - Dhamial and Daultala - have been established while status of Murree has been changed from a municipal corporation to a municipal committee under the new delimitation process for the local government elections.

The list has been displayed at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office after the process of redefining the limits of all seven tehsils of Rawalpindi district was completed. The tehsils are Rawalpindi, Gujar Khan, Murree, Kahuta, Kotli Sattian, Kallar Syedan and Taxila.

The Punjab government intends to hold local government elections under the new Local Government Act 2019 and had asked the 36 districts of the province to conduct delimitation of all tehsils.

Murree’s status changed from corporation to committee

A senior district administration official told Dawn that the revenue officials had prepared initial proposals for delimitations and completed work of union councils’ demarcation. He said the initial proposal was displayed at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office so people could give their feedback.

Under the new delimitation, Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation has been changed into Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation while Murree Municipal Corporation has become a municipal committee.

The defunct Potohar Town (rural-urban areas) of Rawalpindi has been bifurcated into Dhamial and Daultala after adding some union councils of Gujar Khan to it.

In 2001, Rawalpindi city was divided into Potohar and Rawal towns during the tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf to end differences between the two leaders of the then ruling PML-Q - Raja Basharat and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.

However, in 2013, the PML-N government discontinued the two-town system in Rawalpindi and gave a special status to Murree, making it a municipal corporation. The PTI-led government in Punjab has now formed new towns in Rawalpindi’s rural areas and ended the special status of Murree tehsil.

PPP spokesman Nasir Mir said the opposition parties were ignored during the delimitation process and PTI leaders were given a free hand to make changes to the union councils of rural and urban areas.

“The list prepared by the district administration was not made public. Parties were kept in the dark,” he said, adding that the government wanted to delay the local government elections, which was why it was doing strange things.

Former PML-N MNA Malik Shakil Awan was of the view that all stakeholders should be consulted in the process and the lists made public. Representatives of all political parties should be invited before the lists are finalised, he added.

A senior official told Dawn that the lists had been finalised and were available in the Deputy Commissioner’s Office. People can get the copy of the list for Rs10 on demand.

He said residents of the relevant area can raise objections by October 14 which would be cleared by 17th.

He said the final lists would be issued on November 2, adding that people and political parties can make objections, if any. He said the process was being carried out as per law and the deputy commissioner would hear the objections and change the limits as per law.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2019