Development funds: LHC orders equal distribution for all lawmakers’ schemes

Shunila Ruth, PTI’s lone minority legislator, claims she has been denied allocation

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court directed the Punjab Finance Department on Tuesday to equally distribute funds for development schemes among minority MPAs of the provincial assembly.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, issued this order on an intra-court appeal by PTI minority MPA Shunila Ruth. The court also directed the Punjab secretary for finance to give equal treatment to development schemes submitted by both ruling and opposition MPAs.

Appearing before the court, a representative from the provincial assembly secretariat stated that there is no interference in the house when it comes to the grants of MPAs. However, the finance department was unable to produce any standard operating procedure about the distribution of the money.

Advocate Sheraz Zaka, counsel for the petitioner, claimed that ruling party MPAs were exclusively granted funds and their development schemes and given preference over those proposed by the opposition parties.

He argued this was a violation of fundamental rights of citizens who had been deprived of development schemes in areas from where opposition party MPAs were elected. Zaka stated that if the opposition was deprived of funds, ruling party lawmakers should not be granted any such privilege.

In the petition, Zaka submitted that every year, a quota of funds is earmarked by the government of Punjab and allocated to minority MPAs so that the funds can be used for development schemes to benefit minorities.

He said in 2016, a quota was again allocated for MPAs belonging to the Christian community and in accordance to the list of development schemes submitted by each parliamentarian.

The counsel added that his client, who is the only minority lawmaker from PTI under reserved seats for non-Muslims in the Punjab Assembly, was not allocated any quota. This was despite the fact that she also gave in submission for development schemes.

The lawmaker said she was subjected to a discriminatory treatment as quotas had been allocated for all other minority MPAs. Her counsel said a single bench of the LHC had earlier failed to understand her petition and dismissed it. Zaka requested the court to direct the respondents to allocate his client’s quota of funds for development schemes submitted by Ruth.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2016.