FOLLOWING the interior minister’s recent remarks on new administrative units, there has been much discussion in political and intellectual circles on the topic. It seems that the powers that be are pressing for administrative devolution. Earlier, they had favoured local governments and often attempted to transfer decision-making powers and resources to the lower tiers. Is the current push the same approach in different packaging? While we frequently hear about smaller provinces and administrative units , cities, towns and rural locations are not mentioned. The fact is that cities, especially large urban regions, need a special arrangement for governance, resource allocation and service delivery. If the current rulers sincerely want a workable reset, then this aspect must be factored in.

Future devolution plans must begin with a gradual reduction in the number of cantonment administrations. Ap­­proximately four dozen cantonments exist across the country, especially in the larger cities. Many view them as administrative and developmental anomalies. Residents and civil administrations complain that these areas are not aligned with urban development initiatives. Their planning and zonal control........

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