The new bill makes the defence secretary the chairman of the Rawalpindi DHA, with the adjutant general as vice chairman.
The Punjab Assembly passed five bills including the Rawalpindi Defence Housing Authority Bill 2012 on Monday.
Under an ordinance introduced by General Pervez Musharraf, Defence housing areas were turned into authorities under the control of the corps commander concerned. The new bill makes the defence secretary the chairman of the Rawalpindi DHA, with the adjutant general as vice chairman. The DHA secretary and administrator will be members of the board, as will the director general of the Rawalpindi Development Authority and the Rawalpindi commissioner. Treasury sources said that a similar bill for the Lahore DHA was in the pipeline.
Opposition Leader Raja Riaz of the PPP announced that the opposition had no objection to the DHA Bill. Sources on both sides of the house said that he had done so on the instructions of President Asif Zardari. The PPP and the PML-N had agreed to pass the bill following the 18th Amendment, the sources added.
The sources said that the Pakistan Army felt that the DHAs fell under Sections 1, 2 and 37 of the Federal Legislative List and hence could not be subject to provincial legislation. They said that the army wanted the matter referred to the Council of Common Interests. But the PPP and the PML-N were unanimous on the subject, they said.
The other legislation passed was the Punjab Local Government Amendment Bill 2012, the Punjab Public Service Commission Amendment Bill, the Punjab Social Services Board Bill 2012 and the Lahore Canal Heritage Park Bill 2012.
The session began at 4.30pm, some 90 minutes behind schedule, and was prorogued at 8.30pm. Parliamentary Secretary Rana Arshad entertained members’ queries on youth affairs, sports and culture during question hour, though the first nine questions remained unanswered as the lawmakers who posed them were absent and none of their colleagues took them up.
Opposition Leader Raja Riaz criticised the PML-N for boycotting a dinner hosted by Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood, saying it should be more conciliatory and “abandon its solo flight”.
Senator Mohsin Leghari was given a rousing welcome by both sides of the house as well as the speaker when he entered the official gallery as a visitor. The members praised his services as an MPA.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2013.
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