There goes the local government

There's been plenty of debate about whether or not Shahbaz Sharif would scrap the local government ordinance.  Most of the local government administration are affiliated with the PML-Q.  Sane counsel prevailed, I am told, and the idea to scrap the PLGO was deemed to be as radical as the move to introduce it.

Be that as it may, the conspicuous absence of elected local government officials is quite a dismay. Shahbaz is filling the void between government and government by standing in for photo-ops and wading through knee-high rain water.  At the same time, he is working very closely with the WASA, the water and sanitation agency of the Lahore Development Authority.  In other words, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is using a development authority rather than the local government as his main urban planning and enforcement weapon. The new MD WASA is an environmental scientist and was summoned from a federal post in the EPA by Shahbaz himself. The new DG of the LDA (formerly DG PHA)is another effective administrator and is spearheading the government's efforts to enforce local government bye-laws.  The new DCO is busy ensuring that shoppers at the weekly Sunday Bazaars aren't taken advantage of.

Between these officers and offices we can identify the players Shahbaz will be using to manage the urban planning of the city. Save the DCO, none are from the local government administration.  Statutorily, the LDA is an independent body but it falls under the administration of the Housing and Urban Development Department.  LDA budget's are published and circulated only after the summary has received the assent of the CM.  One can gauge how independent the LDA is.  It isn't.

So much for not scrapping the system.  This is just a polite way of going about it.