Chaman emerged as a small town, after the construction of Khujak railway tunnel in 1891. The tunnel is the longest in the sub-continent and it paved the way for smooth traffic to the town. At that time there was no formal institutional arrangement to deal with the civic matters of the town. Therefore, a Bazar committee was established by the local residents and officers in 1892. Its main functions were to collect octroi and fees and to employ sweepers for the sanitation of the town. In 1959 the Bazar Committee was upgraded to a Town Committee.

In 1962 through a change in the structure and function of local bodies, the local government institutions were reorganised in the form of union committees, union councils, town committees and municipalities. The second tier composed of Tehsil Council and District Council. The third tier was formed by the Divisional Councils, in which rural and urban areas were given representations. This system was known as Basic Democracies as the role of local government was extended down to the grass root level. In 1970 another development took place with the establishment of local government departments at the provincial level.

Soon it was realized that the institutional capacity had to be streamlined. Therefore, the Town Committee was converted into a Municipal Committee in 1974.

The present local government system was introduced in 1979. The purpose of this local government system is to give the local population full participation in their development schemes. Thereafter, Balochistan Local Government Ordinance (BLGO) 1980 was implemented. Consequently in Chaman a District Council comprising 15 Union Councils was brought under BLGO.

Local Government Organigramme