District councils phased out under new LG system

District councils across the province have been abolished under the new local government system. In Rawalpindi, assets, staff and income sources will be divided among six tehsils within 90 days.

RAWALPINDI: District councils across the province have been abolished under the new local government system, with administrative steps under way to divide their assets among tehsils.

According to the reported plan, the district council structure will effectively be phased out within the next 90 days. In Rawalpindi, the process will include the distribution of the district council’s assets before its formal dissolution.

These assets include vehicles, machinery, officers and employees from Grade 1 to 16, which will be allocated among the district’s six tehsils. The district council’s sanitation system will also be split and handed over to the relevant councils.

Under the arrangement, all revenue sources currently held by the district council will also be divided. Each source of income will be assigned to the tehsil within whose territorial limits it is located.

Employees of the district council are to be transferred to tehsil councils. The transfers are expected to be made, as far as possible, to the tehsils where the employees live. Orders for these transfers will be issued by the Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi.

Following the announcement, employees have begun trying to secure postings in tehsils of their choice.

The move marks a major administrative shift in the province’s local government structure, ending the district council system and replacing it with a tehsil-based distribution of personnel, assets and income streams.

In Rawalpindi’s case, the transition will affect both operational resources and staff deployment, with the division covering physical assets as well as service delivery systems such as sanitation.

The reported framework also makes clear that the redistribution will not be limited to equipment and manpower. Financial resources linked to the district council are also to be reassigned according to jurisdiction, meaning tehsils will take control of the income sources falling within their respective areas.

With the process now under way, the district council system is set to be wound down in practical terms over the coming three months, while tehsil councils assume control over the functions, staff and assets previously managed at the district level.