KARACHI - Mayor Wasim Akhtar Thursday said that a petition had been filed in Supreme Court for getting the powers of local bodies under the constitution and to strengthen the local bodies system in the country.

He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of district and Taluka chairmen, union council workers and councilors from various cities of interior Sindh including Jamshoro, Haiderabad, Ghotki, Matiyari and other areas.

He said that the prevailing system of local bodies would not be proved effective till it gets the powers at the grass root level.

The KMC has to rely on the grants from the provincial government for obtaining funds whereas its own resources had been made limited through the SLGO 2013, he added.

The mayor said that Sindh government withheld Rs40 billion from the Octroi OZT share of the KMC during the last eight years which is injustice to this city.

Wasim said that the KMC have only 33 percent land control in Karachi and other 17 organisations control the remaining area which caused difficulty and complexities in the solution of people’s problems.

He said: “We all have to go forward for resolutions of such problems whether in Karachi or in the interior Sindh.”

He further said that the local government representatives should join hands with us to make the local government system more effective and operational in the province. The members of the delegation thanked the mayor and said they learned a lot during this visit of the biggest city of the country.

The delegation was headed by the parliamentary observer of trust for democratic education and accountability Yasir Abbasi whereas municipal commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman, Director Coordination Masood Alam, Director Council Ghufran Ahmed, Director Technical to mayor S M Shakaib and others were also present on this occasion.

Meanwhile, the mayor planted sapling of sausages plant Kingelia in the garden of the Frere Hall while taking part in the plantation of such plants by the NGO Shehri.

The mayor said these saplings have been imported from Kenya which after becoming a full bloom tree provides deep and cool shade and also held many benefits for the city.

He said: “We need to plant as more trees in our city as we could because in order to save the environmental from pollution and to bring improvement in it we need more trees.”

Wasim thanked the representatives of the NGO for carrying out this plantation campaign in the city and said all good suggestions and proposals in this connection will be welcomed.

Parks and Horticulture Committee Chairman Khurram Farhan, representative of Shehri Aamara Javed, Vice Chairman Saeer Hameed, Member of Executive Board Danish Zoobi and other KMC officers were also present on this occasion.