LAHORE: The Punjab government has called on the federal government to immediately hand over 12 ‘well-reputed’ and ‘financially sound’ federal institutions that have been devolved to the province under the 18th amendment, The Express Tribune has learnt.
In a letter addressed to the prime minister, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif demanded an immediate transfer of administrative control of the institutions, while declaring their retention “against the spirit of the Constitution”, an official said, while requesting anonymity.
Under the 18th amendment, 17 ministries were devolved, along with paraphernalia and manpower, to the provinces in a step towards provincial autonomy. The process was scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2011; however, it continues to hang in the balance.
‘Withheld’ institutions
The Punjab government maintained that the federal government has retained administrative control of the National College of Arts even after the 18th amendment. It was put under the administrative control of the Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) ministry, which is unconstitutional, it added.
According to the official, Sharif said that the federal government has adopted a biased attitude regarding the shift of health institutions to the province. It handed over control of the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre and the National Institute of Child Health to the Sindh government and the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Hospital in Quetta to the Balochistan government. However, Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore and the Federal Government Post Graduate Medical Institute are yet to be handed over to Punjab.
Likewise, while culture and research fall within provincial domain, the federal government has retained the Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex and the Iqbal Academy, illegally, he said.
The financial assets of Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal and social welfare have also not been handed over to the Punjab government.
The foreign ministry allocated game reserve areas to foreign dignitaries for hunting in Punjab without taking the Punjab government on board.
Similarly, the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) should also be transferred to the Punjab government, as food and agriculture fall under the provincial government, the chief minister maintained.
Sharif further demanded that the Worker Welfare Fund (WWF) and Employees’ Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) should also be handed over. The WWF owned assets worth Rs204 billion “and therefore the federal government did not want to share these funds among the provinces”.
The CM also demanded control of the Pakistan Cricket Board, the Hockey Federation and the Evacuee Trust Properties Board (ETPB).
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2011.
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@imran: be sensible, sharif wont be CM for rest of our lives, its the right of a province he is talking about. People like u dont think at all before criticizing everything and everyone
Why you want the control of the National College of Arts, and the hospitals and universities? You have already messed up pretty badly whatever educational and medical system Punjab had. Now you need more things to mess up?