Lean day: Legislation goes on without opposition

Parliamentary leaders of PPP, PML-Q, Unification Bloc conspicuous by their absence.

LAHORE: Despite low attendance and opposition’s attempts at having the session adjourned by pointing out the quorum, treasury benches passed 10 bills on Thursday.

Among the bills passed was The Punjab Conferment of Proprietary Rights on Occupancy Tenants and Muqarraridars Bill 2011, a bill that was opposed during last week’s session. The law seeks to give ownership rights to farmers who have revived barren land and have been cultivating it for years.

Seven of the bills dealt with subjects that were devolved to the provincial government after the 18th Amendment.

Ehsanul Haq Naulatia was the only PPP member present in the House on Thursday, out of 108. PML-Q, which has 81 seats, was represented by Sardar Mohsin Khan Leghari and Seemal Kamran. Unification Bloc’s parliamentary leader Dr Tahir Ali Javed was absent as well as MMA’s Noor Haider Khan Niazi, PML-Functional’s Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood and PML-Zia’s Chaudhry Shahid Anjum.

The session started with a delay of 37 minutes and lasted for about six hours. Minister Kamran Michael answered questions about the Social Welfare and Women Development Department.

Afterwards the session was adjourned till 9am on Friday.

Bills passed

The Punjab Conferment of Proprietary Rights on Occupancy Tenants and Muqarraridars Bill 2011 was passed after incorporating two amendments suggested by Mohsin Leghari.

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters after the session that about 200,000 tenants had cultivated around 400,000 acres of barren land across the province. “The 200,000 tenants who’ve been cultivating the land for generations will become owners of their land,” he said. However, when asked whether the land being cultivated by the tenants was government land or privately owned, he said that most of the land belonged to the government.

Sanaullah did not have a figure for tenants cultivating barren lands, owned privately. He also did not say whether the bill passed would apply to such tenants. He simply said, “Tenants who have been cultivating public lands will be given ownership of the lands under this law.”

When The Disabled Persons Employment and Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill 2011 was presented, PML-Q’s Seemal Kamran moved for an amendment. She said that only bureaucrats formed the provincial council proposed in the bill. She demanded that women parliamentarians be included in the council. However, her suggestion was turned down by Sanaullah.

PPP’s Ehsanul Haq Naulatia moved an amendment when The Antiquities (Amendment) Bill 2011 was presented. He said that the number of members of the advisory committee, proposed in the bill be specified.

He suggested that at least nine people should be on the committee but Sanaullah said that authorities of the department concerned would decide the number.

The other bills passed by the House were The Punjab Administrative General’s (Amendment) Bill 2011, The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill 2011, The Official Trustee (Amendment) Bill 2011 and The Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2011, The Charitable and Religious Trust (Amendment) Bill 2011 and The Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Bill 2011 and The Punjab Protection of Breast Feeding and Child Nutrition (Amendment) Bill 2011.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2011.