Sindh Assembly: MPAs manage to pass 7 bills, 9 resolutions in one session

Legislator protests murder case registered against his son.

KARACHI: Provincial legislators managed to pass nine resolutions and seven bills in the Sindh Assembly session which started on January 7 and was prorogued on Monday.

Bills on regulating disposal of syringes, empowering civil courts, amending fisheries act, removing encroachments, defining the tenure of vice-chancellors, and zakat and ushr were passed along with resolutions on shortage of drinking water and paying tribute to slain Governor Salmaan Taseer, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and victims of target killings.

Water accord

Minister for Irrigation Jam Saifullah Dharejo informed the Sindh Assembly on Monday that water is not being distributed under Para (2) of the 1991 water accord. “Distribution of the water accord has become a contentious issue between the provinces. I hope we will be able to resolve it under the pattern of the NFC Award,” he said.

The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is still distributing Sindh’s share on historical basis, in case of a shortage of water, he said. No other province is willing to get lesser amount of water in case of a shortage and Sindh suffers the most, he added.

According to Dharejo, influential people are involved in water theft and the police are reluctant to take action against them. “Rangers are deployed to take action against the water stealers but to no avail,” he said. In the Punjab, even executive engineers have magisterial powers to take action against ‘water stealers’ but the situation in Sindh is different, he added.

Case against MPA son

As the session started on Monday with Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro in the chair, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Haji Munwar Ali Abbasi diverted the attention of the house towards a murder case registered against his son, Mozammil Abbasi in Khairpur district. “I am an MPA sitting on the treasury beaches and my son has been implicated in a murder case. I want to know on whose directives the case has been lodged,” he said.

Despite demanding impartial inquiry into the case, Abbasi demanded the suspension of officials who lodged the case. According to the legislator, there was a dispute between the Kalhora and Sial tribes, which resulted in the killing of two people belonging to the Kalhora tribe. On January 20, a man belonging to the Sial family was killed and the police lodged a case against his son who was a UC nazim of Larkana district.

The speaker agreed that this was a serious issue and asked the law minister to look into the case.

Contamination of Manchar Lake

The irrigation minister disclosed that the Right Bank Outfall Drain Project (RBOD) II is in doldrums due to a shortage of funds. After the issue of Manchar Lake contamination, the RBOD I scheme was revised and now the water was supposed to be disposed of into the Arabian Sea near Gharo Creek. Thirty per cent work has been completed on the project but due to a lack of funds further work has been stopped, he said.

Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority

Dharejo, who is also the chairman of Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida), disclosed that the Sida does not come under the jurisdiction of his ministry and is an autonomous body. His statement contradicted the former irrigation minister’s statements when he claimed that the authority comes under his domain. National People’s Party MPA Arif Mustafa Jatoi pointed out that “most of the Sindh government draws Rs15,000 salary. You have fixed Rs50, 000 for the chairman.” Dharejo replied that since it is a foreign funded project, the World Bank pays the salaries and the Sindh government has nothing to do with it.

Adjournment motion

Jatoi moved his adjournment motion to discuss the recent statement made by Federal Law Minister Babar Awan in which he said that the federal capital will soon have its own provincial assembly. “All you people are opposing the fifth province but your law minister is of the opinion that the capital is a separate territory and its residents will soon have their own provincial legislative assembly and a system of self-governance,” Jatoi said.

The speaker said that the adjournment motion is out of order and cannot be discussed on the floor of the assembly. “You are talking on behalf of press clippings. There is no such bill pending in the National Assembly. It is nothing but a hypothetical issue.”

Resolution

Sindh Assembly paid homage and tribute to the Sufi saint of Sindh and agriculture reformer, Shah Inayatullah Shaheed, on his anniversary.  The session was later prorogued for an indefinite time.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2011.