The government has allowed the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) to constitute its own project sanctioning body to approve development schemes of up to Rs1 billion. This ends the law ministry's role in approving projects of the apex court.
For the first time, the Supreme Court can conceive its own development projects and get them approved without referring to the government, if the cost is below Rs1 billion.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given the go-ahead, allowing the Supreme Court to constitute its own Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP), Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal confirmed to The Express Tribune on Friday.
On an order from the apex court, the planning ministry had sought clarification from the prime minister on whether the court could have its own body to approve development projects. Sources said the PM approved the ministry's summary, authorising the apex court to form its own working party.
Despite approval, however, a major hurdle remains. The National Economic Council (NEC) has barred DDWPs from approving new projects until completion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, citing fiscal constraints.
Under the manual for development projects, schemes are approved by either DDWPs, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), or the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
The DDWP is chaired by a federal secretary of the concerned ministry and can approve projects of up to Rs1 billion. The CDWP, chaired by Planning Minister and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal, approves schemes up to Rs7.5 billion. ECNEC, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, clears projects costing more than Rs7.5 billion.
Officials said the Planning Commission initially had reservations about the Supreme Court forming its own body. The view was that the court, as a constitutional organ, is independent and not part of the federal government.
Documents show the Supreme Court notified its own DDWP in December last year. In January, the Planning Commission responded that only autonomous bodies could set up DDWPs for self-financed projects.
Projects cleared by these bodies are either financed from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) or through self-financing by autonomous institutions.
The planning ministry maintained that only federal ministries and divisions could create DDWPs. These are headed by a secretary or the Principal Accounting Officer of an administrative division, under rules set out in the Manual for Development Projects of December 2021.
Autonomous bodies can approve their own self-financed development projects from their respective DDWPs subject to confirmation from their boards of directors or governors.
The Supreme Court is a constitutional body and does not fall under the category of a ministry or division.
At present, the law and justice ministry handles projects of the Supreme Court, under the Rules of Business, 1973.
The planning ministry informed the Prime Minister's Office that, last month, the court had directed the planning secretary to submit the matter of notification to the PM for orders.
The Supreme Court also sent a fresh reference. It argued that as a constitutional body under Article 175 of the Constitution, it must have autonomy to conceive, design, and approve infrastructure projects in accordance with its institutional requirements. The court sought a DDWP headed by its registrar, who also serves as principal accounting officer.
The federal government or the Parliament does not enjoy any authority over the expenditure of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Expenses of constitutional bodies like the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Senate and National Assembly are approved by Parliament without the right to reduce or reject the amounts demanded.
Despite formal approval, however, until the NEC lifts its moratorium on the approval of the development schemes by DDWPs, the apex court may not be able to immediately approve any of its projects.
In June this year, the NEC, chaired by the prime minister, stopped DDWPs from approving new projects until the IMF programme is completed. The ban was imposed to conserve resources. The planning ministry had observed that DDWPs were splitting large projects into smaller schemes to bypass CDWP scrutiny.
To a question, Ahsan Iqbal said only the NEC can lift the moratorium, and that too depending on available fiscal space.
For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs1 trillion for development spending. This is half the financing need of ongoing projects. The development budget is less than 1% of the size of the economy, down from 3% of the GDP just seven years ago.
The planning ministry is also struggling to fully utilise even this limited allocation. During the first two months of the fiscal year, it spent only a fraction of the available funds.
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