Sick leave: PA session postponed amid dengue fears
Legislators quick to return to constituencies ‘to raise awareness’.
LAHORE:
The Punjab Assembly business advisory committee on Thursday unanimously decided to prorogue the ongoing session for two weeks in view of the growing dengue epidemic.
The house will hold further discussion on the dengue outbreak today, after which there will be a break so legislators can return to their constituencies to raise awareness about the disease, the speaker said at the start of the session at 11:40am. Several legislators admitted, in private, that they feared getting the disease if they stayed in Lahore much longer.
Thursday’s sitting was disrupted at one point when the smoke alarms went off as insecticide was being sprayed in the building. Most members left the house, though the speaker continued conducting proceedings. The session was eventually adjourned at around 3pm.
Legislators privy to the business advisory committee meeting said that both government and opposition members had pressed their leaders to prorogue the session. They said several members feared getting dengue themselves. By evening, most MPAs had left the city.
A delegation from electronics manufacturer LG met with the speaker and deputy speaker and told him that the company had launched air conditioners in Indonesia that killed mosquitoes. An LG official said that the ACs emitted a chemical and radiation that killed mosquitoes but was not harmful to humans.
Bills
Also on Thursday, the house passed the Punjab Power Development Board Bill 2010, the Registration Bill 2011 and the Epidemic Diseases Bill 2011. Amendment bills to the Agricultural Pesticides Bill 2011, the Punjab Bonded Labour System Bill 2011, the Punjab Maternity Benefit Bill 2011, the Punjab Worker’s Children Bill 2011 and the Punjab Workmen’s Compensation Bill 2011 were introduced and referred to the standing committees concerned.
The annual reports of the Faisalabad Development Authority, Gujranwala Development Authority, Multan Development Authority and Rawalpindi Development Authority, as well as the report on appropriation accounts of the government of Punjab for the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, were also presented.
The Punjab Power Development Board Bill 2010 aims to encourage private investment in energy production through a ‘one-window’ system.
The bill provides for the formation of a board, headed by the chief minister, that would aim to help private investors set up power plants, look at feasibility studies and operational plans for projects with prospective developers, encourage foreign contractors to hire local engineers, collect fees from developers, correspond with local and international agencies, issue no-objection certificates, explore hydropower potential sites and develop alternative energy sources.
The board would also coordinate policy with the federal government and the Water and Power Development Authority.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2011.
The Punjab Assembly business advisory committee on Thursday unanimously decided to prorogue the ongoing session for two weeks in view of the growing dengue epidemic.
The house will hold further discussion on the dengue outbreak today, after which there will be a break so legislators can return to their constituencies to raise awareness about the disease, the speaker said at the start of the session at 11:40am. Several legislators admitted, in private, that they feared getting the disease if they stayed in Lahore much longer.
Thursday’s sitting was disrupted at one point when the smoke alarms went off as insecticide was being sprayed in the building. Most members left the house, though the speaker continued conducting proceedings. The session was eventually adjourned at around 3pm.
Legislators privy to the business advisory committee meeting said that both government and opposition members had pressed their leaders to prorogue the session. They said several members feared getting dengue themselves. By evening, most MPAs had left the city.
A delegation from electronics manufacturer LG met with the speaker and deputy speaker and told him that the company had launched air conditioners in Indonesia that killed mosquitoes. An LG official said that the ACs emitted a chemical and radiation that killed mosquitoes but was not harmful to humans.
Bills
Also on Thursday, the house passed the Punjab Power Development Board Bill 2010, the Registration Bill 2011 and the Epidemic Diseases Bill 2011. Amendment bills to the Agricultural Pesticides Bill 2011, the Punjab Bonded Labour System Bill 2011, the Punjab Maternity Benefit Bill 2011, the Punjab Worker’s Children Bill 2011 and the Punjab Workmen’s Compensation Bill 2011 were introduced and referred to the standing committees concerned.
The annual reports of the Faisalabad Development Authority, Gujranwala Development Authority, Multan Development Authority and Rawalpindi Development Authority, as well as the report on appropriation accounts of the government of Punjab for the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, were also presented.
The Punjab Power Development Board Bill 2010 aims to encourage private investment in energy production through a ‘one-window’ system.
The bill provides for the formation of a board, headed by the chief minister, that would aim to help private investors set up power plants, look at feasibility studies and operational plans for projects with prospective developers, encourage foreign contractors to hire local engineers, collect fees from developers, correspond with local and international agencies, issue no-objection certificates, explore hydropower potential sites and develop alternative energy sources.
The board would also coordinate policy with the federal government and the Water and Power Development Authority.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2011.