Islamabad’s use of Sindh’s welfare funds challenged

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court turned down Tuesday a federal law officer’s request to recall the status quo granted earlier on the use of funds given to provinces for workers welfare by the federal government. Petitioner Khalilur Rehman and others challenged the central government’s ability to use Workers Welfare Funds (WWF) instead of the provinces, as mandated in the 18th Constitutional Amendment recently made to the Constitution of 1973.

They submitted that the federal government established the WWF to set up low-cost residential colonies, provide other facilities to workers across the country. A meeting of the WWF held on March 9, 2010, decided on the construction of low-cost colonies in Sukkur, Badin, Nawabshah, Tando Muhammad Khan and Sajawal. However, the people at the meeting observed that the sites for the flats in Sukkur, Sajawal and Nawabshah were not suitable. Therefore, donors were asked to provide alternate sites. In April 2010, the federal government, in violation of the decision, invited tenders and bids for the construction of low-cost colonies at the rejected sites. Their counsel argued the federal government had no right to make use of the funds, as they were a provincial subject after the provincial concurrent list was abolished. On Tuesday, DAG Mian Khan Malik filed an application, submitting that the SHC had earlier ordered the petitioners and respondents of the federal government to maintain the status quo with respect to WWF funds.

This will cause heavy costs to the government. He prayed the court to recall the ad-interim order. A division bench, denying the request, extended the interim stay order passed earlier till July 9, 2010.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2010.