The special committee, on setting up a new administrative division in the Punjab, shortlisted two proposals on Monday in a meeting attended by members of national and provincial assemblies.
An official handout said the final decision on whether Thal should be a division will be taken by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan presided over a meeting regarding the headquarters of the new division at the Committee Room of the Punjab Assembly.
DCOs of Sargodha, Jhang, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, Mandi Bahauddin and Layyah were also present at the meeting.
The meeting okayed for consideration a proposal making district Layyah the new divisional headquarters. Bhakkar and Layyah districts and Kot Addu tehsil of district Muzaffargarh could be included in the new division. Rangpur Janoobi village of district Muzaffargarh may also be a part of the new division.
The second proposal is for Bhakkar to be made the new divisional headquarters and including Bhakkar, Layyah, Kot Addu, a part of Noorpur Thal and some areas of tehsil Athara Hazari in the new division.
Representatives of Kot Addu opposed the divisional headquarters status for Bhakkar, saying that it was 200 kilometres away from Kot Addu.
Representatives of Jhang district said that if Athara Hazari tehsil was included in the new division, Ahmedpur Sial tehsil would be disconnected from Jhang.
Representatives of Mianwali district said that they preferred to remain a part of Sargodha division.
The meeting also considered a proposal for making Jhang the divisional headquarters and including Mandi Bahauddin district in Sargodha division instead of Gujranwala division.
After consensus could not be reached, it was decided that the chief minister should make the final decision.
Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan told that meeting that Bhakkar, Layyah and other areas of Thal desert were considered the most backward areas of the Punjab.
He said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif wanted to facilitate development by establishing a new division Thal so that people of the area could have easier access to the new divisional headquarters.
MNAs Obaidullah Shadikhel, Muhammad Afzal Dhandla, Najaf Abbas Siyal, Syed Saqlain Shah Bukhari, MPAs Malik Ahmed Yar Hanjra, Malik Ghulam Murtaza Rahim Khar, Hammad Nawaz Khan, Chaudhary Ashfaq Ahmed, Alamdar Hussain, Khurram Siyal, Shafqat Gondal, Syed Tariq Yaqoob Shah, Malik Ghazanfar Abbas Cheena, Amir Enayat Khan Shahani, Amanat Ullah Khan Shadikhel, Mehr Ijaz Ahmed Achlana, Muhammad Akram, Mohtarma Rashida Yaqoob Sheikh, Ameer Muhammad Khan, Muhammad Saqlain Bukhari, Qaiser Magsi, Mohtarma Tahia Noon and former MPA Ali Noor Haider Khan Niazi and senior members of the Punjab Board of Revenue, Sargodha division commissioner, Regulation secretary, Local Government additional secretary and DCOs of the concerned districts were present in the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.