The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution has expressed concern over the non-holding of meetings of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and questioned the federal government’s continued control over matters devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, reported 24NewsHD TV.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Zameer Hussain Ghumro, reviewed the implementation of the devolution process and the status of 17 ministries abolished in 2011.
Ghumro said the Cabinet Division had issued a notification in 2011 for abolishing 17 ministries, adding that the Senate and the CCI were established under the 1973 Constitution. He said the CCI was as important as the federal cabinet and warned that failure to give due importance to the constitutional body amounted to a violation of the Constitution.
The committee also discussed the federal government’s expenditures on matters relating to the 17 abolished ministries over the past 15 years. The subcommittee directed the Auditor General of Pakistan to provide details within seven days regarding expenditures incurred by the federal government on provincial matters.
Government expenditures are a cause for concern for the people of Pakistan and The Prime Minister speaks of cutting expenses.
The Establishment Division told the committee that police-related powers, duties and responsibilities did not fall under its domain, while Ghumro maintained that police was a provincial subject.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar also briefed the subcommittee on the devolution of the film and cinema sectors. He said these sectors had been transferred to the provincial governments and opposed excessive censorship of films.
Tarar said he wanted more films to be produced in the country and that censorship standards should be relatively liberal. He also proposed establishing a national coordination council for film censor boards, while the subcommittee decided to write to the CCI regarding the proposal.
Speaking about the newspaper industry, Tarar said, “The newspaper is dying, but it is still working.” Ghumro said media-related matters were also supposed to be devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. Tarar sought one month to complete the process of transferring the relevant sectors to the provinces.
The subcommittee also expressed concern over the continued federal control of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs). Ghumro said electricity transmission and distribution was a provincial matter under Article 157 of the Constitution.
The Power Division informed the committee that provincial governments had repeatedly been asked to take over the management of electricity distribution companies.
Ghumro also expressed displeasure over a letter written by the Privatisation Division to the Ministry of Law and Justice regarding the DISCOs. He warned that if the letter was not withdrawn, the committee would write to the provinces regarding taking administrative control of the distribution companies.
The subcommittee directed that the issue of transferring DISCOs to the provinces be referred to the Council of Common Interests for consideration.
Reporter: Rozina Ali