CONSTITUTION AND FUNCTIONING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Chapter – IV) Demarcation, Classification, Delimitation, Constitution of Local Governments and Review of Local Areas #
7. Demarcation, constitution and classification of Metropolitan Corporation and District Council. –(1) The urban and rural areas demarcated and notified under Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 (XIII of 2019) shall be deemed to have been demarcated and notified, unless altered under this Act, for constitution of the local areas of the following local governments and in the manner given below:
(a) a Metropolitan Corporation as follows:
(i) all areas comprising district Lahore as Metropolitan Corporation Lahore; and
(ii) Largest urban area in the districts of Sialkot, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha, as the Metropolitan Corporation of the respective local area; and
(b) a District Council as follows:
(i) area of District of Sialkot, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha, excluding the local area of Metropolitan Corporation in that district; and
(ii) whole area of a district except the districts of Lahore, Sialkot, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha.
(2) Each local area shall constitute territorial jurisdiction of the respective local government.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| 11 | 8,9,15 | 7 | 7,8 | 7 |
Comments
The Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 (Act XIII of 2019) was notified on 04.05.2019 and its Section 3 dissolved the local governments elected under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013. The Government vide Notification dated 05.11.2019 under Sections 8 and 9 of the PLGA, 2019 notified the demarcation and classification of the local areas of the succeeding local governments i.e. Metropolitan Corporation, Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees, Town Committees for urban areas and Tehsil Councils for rural areas in a district. The succeeding local governments under Section 15 of the PLGA, 2019 were constituted vide Notification dated 07.11.2019. The PLGA, 2019, however, did not provide establishment of a Union Council. The local areas of the local governments demarcated and notified under the PLGA, 2019 have been saved under clause (b), sub-section (2) of section 204 of the Act. By virtue of section 8 of the Act, Metropolitan Corporation Lahore for a district Lahore and other 10 Metropolitan Corporations constituting largest urban areas in the of Sialkot, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha, shall be constituted. The District Councils shall constitute the remaining local areas in the above-mentioned districts as well as all local areas of the other districts in the Punjab. The local areas of the defunct Municipal Committee and Town Committee constituted under the PLGA, 2019 shall now form part of the respective District Council in a district which under sub-section 2 of Section 13 may be established as a sub-office of a local government administration for the performance of functions in an urban area.
11. Principles of delimitation of Union Councils.–(1) A variation in the limit of population of local areas shall be permissible up to ten percent, in order to avoid splitting of census blocks.
(2) For delimitation of the local areas of Union Councils, it shall be ensured that:
(a) population of local area of each Union Councils shall be uniform, as far as possible, as per the latest census;
(b) the local area shall be a territorial unit;
(c) the boundaries of a rural Union Council shall not cross the limits of the respective tehsil in a district; and
(d) the boundaries of urban Union Council shall not cross the limits of the respective Metropolitan Corporation, defunct Municipal Corporation or Municipal Committee or Town Committee constituted under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2019 (XIII of 2019), as the case may be.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| 9 | – | 11 | 9 | 11 |
12. Coordination with Election Commission for delimitation.– (1) The Deputy Commissioners shall coordinate and facilitate the Election Commission in whole process of delimitation and provide required details about the local area of each local government demarcated under section 7 in identifying the distribution of population in geographically compact areas, physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience and other cognate factors to ensure homogeneity in the delimitation of Union Councils.
(2) The Deputy Commissioner shall provide to the Election Commission all notifications of local areas showing notified population along with their census block codes and copies of authenticated maps of local governments showing the clear boundaries.
(3) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify the name by which a Union Council shall be known and unless the name of a Union Council is so specified, it shall be known as the Union Council of the place where its office is situated.
| NOTES: | ||||
| PARI MATERIA PROVISIONS | ||||
| PLGA 2013 | PLGA 2019 | PLGO 2021 | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XIII of 2022) | PLGA 2022 (Act No. XXXIII of 2022) |
| s. | s. | s. | s. | s. |
| – | – | 12 | 10 | 12 |
Comments
The term “demarcation” is different from the term “delimitation”. Under the Act, the power to demarcate the urban and rural areas in the district and classify into urban and rural areas for the purpose of constitution of local governments other than a Union Council vests with the Government, whereas Election Commission has been empowered to delimit Union Councils within the local areas of the demarcated local governments according to the population range of twenty-five thousands for each Union Council. It is the constitutional obligation of the Election Commission to hold elections to the local governments under Article 140A (2) of the Constitution. Prior to the promulgation of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013, the delimitation of Union Councils was carried out by the Government in terms of Section 6 of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001. Initially, the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 through its Sections 8 and 9 also provided for delimitation by the Government. The delimitation of Union Councils and Wards carried out by the Government for the purpose of local governments’ elections was assailed in Writ Petition No.31986/2013 titled “Arshad Mehmood vs. Commissioner, Delimitation Authority Gujranwala and others” on the ground that it was the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to delimit Union Councils and Wards under Articles 140A (2), 218(3), 219(d) and 222 of the Constitution of Pakistan. The Hon’ble Lahore High Court Lahore vide judgment reported as PLD 2014 Lahore 221 in a case titled “Arshad Mehmood v. Commissioner / Delimitation Authority, Gujranwala” declared Section 8 to 10 of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 and rules 3 to 8 of the Punjab Local Governments (Delimitation) Rules, 2013 to be unconstitutional and liable to be struck down being inconsistent with the Articles 218(3) read with 222(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan as they abridge and take away the Constitutional role of the Election Commission of Pakistan. Afterwards, the delimitation of Union Councils and Wards for the purpose of elections to the local governments under the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013 was carried out by the Election Commission of Pakistan. The provisions of Section 10 of the Act also empower the Election Commission to delimit the Union Councils. Article 222(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan enables the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) through law to provide for delimitation of constituencies by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Accordingly, Elections Act, 2017 has been notified. Section 17 of the Elections Act provides that the Election Commission shall delimit territorial constituencies for elections to the National Assembly, each Provincial Assembly and to the local governments in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, this Act, the Rules and the applicable local government law. Sub-section (5) of Section 19 provides that for the purpose of election to the local governments, the Commission shall carry out delimitation with due regard to the applicable local government law. Besides the principles of delimitation of Union Council provided in Section 11 of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2022, Section 20 of the Elections Act, 2017 provides the following principles of delimitation:
a. All constituencies for general seats shall, as far as practicable, be delimited having regard to the:
i. distribution of population in geographically compact areas,
ii. physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units,
iii. facilities of communication and public convenience and other cognate factors to ensure homogeneity in the creation of constituencies.
b. As far as possible, variation in population of constituencies of an Assembly or a local government shall not ordinarily exceed ten percent. If the limit of ten percent is exceeded in an exceptional case, the Commission shall record reasons thereof in the delimitation order.
