Assembly panel to pursue public pleas

LAHORE:

In a move aimed at expanding public participation in legislative affairs, the Punjab Assembly has constituted a Scrutiny Committee to examine and process public petitions, creating a formal mechanism through which citizens can raise matters of urgent public importance before the House.

A notification issued by the Punjab Assembly Secretariat said the new system would allow citizens to directly engage with the provincial legislature by submitting petitions on issues requiring legislative or administrative attention. The initiative is being viewed as a significant step toward participatory governance, enabling the public to formally place collective concerns before elected representatives.

Under the new procedure, any public petition must carry at least 200 signatures to be considered admissible.

Assembly officials said the requirement is intended to ensure that only issues with wider public support are taken up, while filtering out personal grievances and frivolous complaints.

The newly formed Scrutiny Committee will be headed by the Deputy Speaker and will examine each petition for admissibility, relevance and substance. It will also review whether the issue falls within the jurisdiction of the provincial government or a statutory body under its control.