II. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS OF UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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E. District/local level institutions and bodies

In view of the complexity of the problems being experienced by local institutions, as well as the multiplicity of participants, a new management process is needed for those institutions as they can no longer be managed through the traditional mechanism of public management. New concepts have to be developed and new methods created for a more adequate management, based on the recently-introduced field of "governance" (Banniger, 1995). 

The province has a huge rural population (85 per cent of the provincial total) living inhabitants are very backward, and are faced with numerous problems such as a high population growth rate, a low level of agriculture productivity, a defective marketing system, illiteracy (particularly among women), land availability limitations, and a lack of basic needs and infrastructure. The gradual disintegration of traditional social institutions and the discontinuation of local bodies are two other major constraints on collective participation and self-help development projects at the local level. 

On the Indian subcontinent the system of local institutions is very old. Previously known as panchayats, they comprised five elders who were responsible for solving local problems and providing prompt and inexpensive justice. They were also empowered to levy different types of taxes within their jurisdictions (Khalil and others, 1986). Following independence, the system of local institutions declined. 

In Pakistan, development planning related to the environment, local government and rural development is coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, and by housing, physical planning, environment and local government at the provincial level. At the local level the Municipal Corporation/Town Committees in urban civil areas and the Cantonment Board in military areas are the basic units of urban administration and management. Divisional headquarters development authorities like PDA, Mardan Development Authority, Malakand Development Authority-Saidusharif, Abbottabad Development Authority, Kohat Development Authority and D. I. K. Development Authority have also been created to undertake development work in a comprehensive and systematic manner. Local units of a number of nation-building provincial line departments are directly responsible to their headquarters at the district/divisional and provincial levels. 

Since independence, the systems of local governments and bodies have continued to exist in one form or another. District Boards, Municipal Committees and Notified Areas remained in existence until 1959 when the Basic Democracies Scheme was introduced, leading to the creation of local councils at different levels. The national government then launched various programmes from time to time which were aimed at improving the living conditions of the rural population. Those programmes included Village-AID (1953-1959), Basic Democracies (1959-1971), People's Work Programme (1972-1979) and the Integrated Rural Development Programme (1972-1979) (box 1).. At the same time, the respective departments were expanded by adding special schemes such as rural health, a cooperative farm service, adult education, land reforms, a grow-more-food campaign and an accelerated agricultural production programme ("green revolution"). In addition, new organizations (e.g., the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan, the Agricultural Development Corporation, Salinity Control and Reclamation Project (SCARP) etc. were created in order to meet administrative and institutional inadequacies. However, a number of shortcomings and other limitations obstructed the operations of those new organizations. Moreover, a lack of adequate follow-up activities such as monitoring, evaluation and research prevented the modification of the programmes to meet changing needs and demands. As a result, the methods and processes of rural development could neither be standardized nor institutionalized properly, even through the use of the United Nations integrated approach. 

Box 1. Integrated Rural Development Programme  The government established the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) in July 1972. The purpose of IRDP was to decentralize the activities of various institutions, public as well as private, and pool them within focal points called markez (rural development centres) so that their services were easily accessible to the public. The NWFP IRDP was based on the Commila/Daudzai model. Projects totalling PRs 600 million (1974 prices) were approved by the national and NWFP governments to cover all 110 markez in the province, with each markez having its geographic boundaries coextensive with that of the police stations. Development administration was to have been decentralized below the district level and above the Union Council level. The programme aimed at cooperative involvement of the rural population through village organizations and groups, and federated at the markez level. The staff of the Basic Democracies programme were utilized mainly by the local government departments for the implementation of IRDP and People's Work Programme. IRDP in NWFP was wound up in late 1979 as a result of a change in the government, and funds budgeted for the programme were transferred to newly created local councils (Union and District Councils). The buildings of the 35 established centres, constructed to house the decentralized administration, were turned into colleges, government offices and police stations.

Elections of local bodies were regularly held by the military government from September 1979. As a result, the institution of District Councils has emerged as most dynamic mechanism in local area development planning. The emergence of that tier of planning has bridged the gap in planning which had existed between the grass-roots and provincial levels. With the introduction of local bodies the District Councils became an effective tool of local-level development planning and environmental management. They assumed the task of preparing development plans in sectors which broadly included primary education in rural areas, preventive health planning, development of infrastructure in the communications and transportation sector, and the regulation and management of agricultural extension and livestock services. The District Councils were also given the authority to raise funds through levying taxes, and were provided with grants from the government for their development activities. They have a fair degree of autonomy in development planning with regard to project identification, implementation and prioritization as prescribed by law. 

At present, the local councils are confined to the preparation of ADP rather than long- and medium-term Perspective Plans or Five-Year Plans. The institutional bottlenecks include a lack of sufficient institutional capacity and trained expertise in planning and environmental management. However, the councils will ultimately offer good potential for emerging as an institution if allowed to undertake long-term planning. 

The creation and promulgation of local area planning at the district level through NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 1979, is a fully representative, democratic, autonomous and self-reliant system. Under the Ordinance, the local councils are vested with wide powers and functions. That was a step towards meeting a long-standing need for planning institutions at the sub-regional/ local level. It has permitted the involvement of various community interest groups in the formulation of development planning. But despite those positive aspects, the system has failed to achieve the desired results mainly because of a lack of continuity and political will, or the denial of political support. 

During the military government period, local body elections were held regularly. Following the first election (September 1979), the second was held in September 1983 and the third in November, 1987. The fourth election is due but has yet to be held by the current democratically elected civil government, which is a clear indication that the local bodies are not fully recognized by the government. 

The system provide two categories of local council, i.e. rural and urban. The rural councils comprise Union and District Councils. The Union Council composition is based on the size of the population and the area covered, ranging from 10 to 20 villages. Membership varies from 5 to 15 for a population of between 10,000 and 25,000. The District Councils have a fixed membership of 30 with two seats reserved for women in each council. In NWFP during 1995/96, there were 22 District Councils and 769 Union Councils. 

In NWFP there are three types of Urban Councils: the Municipal Corporation in Peshawar (see box 2); 30 Municipal Committees; and 13 Town Committees. The membership of the Municipal Committees and Town Committees varies from 7 to 15 with a special reserved seat for women in each committee. The Municipal Corporation has 43 seats including two special seats for women and one for minorities. Again, the criterion for defining the Urban Councils is population size. In the case of the Municipal Corporation the population size is 500,000 and above, while for the Municipal Committees it is 20,000 and above, and for Town Committees it is over 5,000 but less then 20,000. 

Box 2. Peshawar: a need for an integrated approach and land-use controls  Peshawar, with one of the highest population growth rates in Pakistan, had an estimated population of over 2 million in 1996/97. During the inter-censual period of 1972-1981 a population growth rate of 4.69 per cent was recorded. That was substantially higher than the average annual urban growth rate of 4.38 per cent in Pakistan and 3.98 per cent in NWFP. The city consists of five major units: the walled city, the cantonment, the university town and campus, Hayatabad township and suburban villages. Some of the villages have already been swallowed up by the city. The Peshawar Municipal Corporation, the Peshawar Cantonment Board, the University Town Committee, the Peshawar Development Authority, the District Council and the other provincial line departments are all involved in the development process. That has resulted in an overlap of activities and a lack of coordination. To avoid overlapping and duplication a clear demarcation of responsibilities is needed. Thus, to implement an integrated approach for projects and programmes, it will be necessary to improve coordination and to develop effective linkages. It is therefore recommended: (a) that the provincial line departments should concentrate on the major provincial issues which are outside the scope of local government and that within the urban local government area most of the programmes and projects should be planned and implemented by the city authority; and (b) the city should be considered as one entity for planning, programming and budgeting, and should be managed in an integrated manner by one organization. In addition, activities under (a) and (b) should be guided by representatives of the city.  The city lacks a detailed land-use map and development control plan; as a result, it is growing haphazardly on prime agriculture land. The northern, eastern and southern parts of the city are taking up very fertile agriculture land. But because of the absence of planning and zoning, such land is being lost to other uses not only in Peshawar but in other cities of Pakistan. The need to protect prime agriculture land has therefore reached a critical point. Planning tools such as land-use maps and plans must be prepared through the adoption of advanced environmental technology, such as remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS), in order to utilize resources in a sustainable way.

Local Government Ordinance, 1979, provides local councils with a wide range of powers and functions. They have their own budget and can formulate ADPs. They have the power to levy the local taxes, fees and octroi, execute contracts, hold auctions of bus and taxi stands, organize cattle fairs etc. 

The chairmen of the District Councils and the mayor of Peshawar Municipal Corporation are authorized to approve expenditures up to PRs 200,000 on a single item (note: the figure changes from time to time). The chairmen of the Municipal Committees and Town Committees have similar powers for expenditures up to PRs 50,000, the chairman of the Union Council can approve expenditures up to PRs 0,000. 

The main functions of the Urban Councils are related to maintaining civic amenities, health, sanitation, drinking water supply, drainage, education, sports, culture, town planning and social welfare activities of various types. 

District Council functions include: the construction and maintenance of public roads, rest houses, streets, public ways, culverts, bridges, public buildings and drinking water supplies; tree plantation; the maintenance of public places (e.g., parks) and establishments, rural health centres and primary schools and markets; organizing fairs; and celebrating national events. 

Union Council functions include: the maintenance of public highways, streets, public places such as gardens and playgrounds, and street lighting; planting and preservation of trees; the management of shamilat (common land); the prevention of encroachment on public ways and places; sanitation and the promotion of cleanliness measures; the regulation of offences and the prevention of dangerous and prohibited trades; regulation of the slaughter of animals; the construction and maintenance of wells, the installation of water pumps, water pounds and tanks, and the supply of drinking water; the adoption of relief measures during natural disasters; and the promotion of social welfare. 

It has been adequately proved that local government is the most effective delivery system for bringing about a change in the socio-economic conditions of the rural areas. However, because of the lack of continuity, the process of amelioration has been interrupted from time to time; yet whenever the institutions concerned have been assigned a responsibility that is backed by the authority necessary to fulfilling the task assigned to them, they have always been up to the mark (Naqvi and Hamid, 1986). The local councils have achieved commendable results in raising self-generated incomes and development expenditure. An increase of 395.4 per cent in the generation of funds by District Councils between 1986/87 and 1995/96 is an encouraging sign of self-reliance. In certain individual cases the figures are much higher then the overall increase. Some District Councils, such as those in Chitral and Manshera, prepared district development plans. The example of the Manshera district development plan is discussed in box 3. However, the plans have not been updated because of a lack of continuity in the system and federal/provincial government involvement in the affairs of the local bodies. 

Box 3. Manshera District Development Plan In Manshera district the implementation of developmental schemes has been carried out through project committees and with the involvement of the local population in the planning and implementation process of development activities. The system has promoted learning by doing and it has created self-confidence and self-reliance among the rural population. They have accepted the challenging job of rural development with a spirit of self-help and initiative. At the same time, the construction costs of public works has been reduced by almost 50 per cent through self-help measures in the form of contributions of free labour, land and, occasionally, material and equipment. The significant role played by the population of Manshera district in the development of their area was recognized by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) by its selection of the district for the UNICEF local development management programme, the first of its kind in the country. Every household in the district was surveyed and a five-year plan was drawn up on the basis of development in the district with assistance from the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development. The District Council organized a series of training programmes for councillors and village volunteers. That phase of training on local-level planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation had far-reaching results on the successful execution of the development plans. It infused a new spirit in the people for improving their villages. The District Council has been responsible for most of the development successes in Manshera. Urgent problems related to issues such as drinking water supply, education, communications and, to some extent, the supply of electricity have been solved successfully by the District Council. It was also very successful in generating the necessary funds locally. The people of the district have taken an active part at every stage of the execution of the development schemes. In fact, they considered the projects as their own. However, the women's programme was unfortunately not a success. A total of 2 per cent of the budget was allocated for women's development, but the utilization level was very low and action was taken without consulting the women of the district. Other weaknesses of the programmes included a lack of proper evaluation and follow-up of the programme, and no coordination among line departments, which led to overlapping, duplication of efforts and the wastage of resources.

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