CCI withdraws decision to restructure WAPDA

Move in line with apex court 2018 ruling on powers of the council

ISLAMABAD:

The Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Thursday withdrew its earlier decision regarding restructuring of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) in view of the Supreme Court judgment on the powers of the council.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that the CCI has agreed to withdraw its earlier decision about the restructuring of WAPDA in line with the SC 2018 ruling on the council’s powers.

The 42nd meeting of the CCI was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. All chief ministers were in attendance.

According to the earlier reconstruction plan, Wapda chairman was supposed to be appointed through rotation between all provinces with no executive powers, and he would have been bound to oversee policy formulations.

It was also proposed that members of the authority would also oversee policy formulations. However, the federal government will appoint the Wapda CEO and relevant professional staff with executive powers and run the show and more importantly organisational organogram shall be restructured to ensure corporate governance in Wapda.

According to the earlier decision, the Ministry of Water Resources would have prepared the recruitment regulation for Wapda in consultation with provinces keeping in view the principles that include organisational organogram shall be restructured to ensure cooperate governance in Wapda; chairman and members with no executive powers shall be appointed to oversee policy formulations; the CEO and relevant professional staff shall be appointed by the federal government and the chairman of the authority shall be appointed through rotation between all provinces.

However, it is learnt that the AGP Office objected to the reconstruction plan in view of the apex court judgment authored by former chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar two years ago.

Elaborating on the powers of the CCI, the top court had enunciated the constitutional principle that CCI is subservient, and not superior to parliament.

Former CJP Nisar, while authoring the 39-page verdict, said that the CCI does not have supervisory role over the functions of parliament, since it is responsible to parliament under the Constitution.

It also said that parliament, without any restriction or constraint, has absolute and unfettered authority to make laws with respect to the matters enumerated in the Federal Legislative List, without requiring any approval or assent from any forum or authority in the country, including the CCI.

“Therefore, it is clear from this provision that the CCI has no role in the legislative process with respect to the matters enumerated in the Federal Legislative List, rather it is restricted to formulation and regulation of policies in relation to the said matters, and that too contained only in Part II of such list. Once policies are finalised, the CCI cannot interfere in the legislative process, nor can any legislation be struck down for the reason that the CCI was not involved in the relevant legislative process.”

Additionally, the verdict held that the CCI can exercise supervision and control over the related institutions but not over parliament, which according to the scheme of the Constitution is supreme and all the other institutions have to function whilst remaining within their constitutional domain.