Punjab Assembly: Lack of quorum keeps uplift authorities bill pending

Opposition withdraw amendment motions after debate on some.

LAHORE:

The Opposition failed on Wednesday to defend any of its reservations or amendments to The Punjab Development of Cities (Amendment) Bill 2014 moved in the Punjab Assembly.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan went on to suggest that the opposition get a new person to draft their motion – considering the current one had caused them such embarrassment.

When the government moved The Punjab Development of Cities (Amendment) Bill 2014 [amendments to the Punjab Development Authorities (PDA) Act 1976] for consideration a lack of quorum prevented its passage.

The opposition raised six objections, all shot down by the treasury benches for being “impractical”. The house will take up the bill on Thursday (today) for its passage.

Leader of Opposition Mian Mehmoodur Rashid raised an objection to the first amendment in the bill [The authority shall consist of a chairman who shall be the chief minister or any other person nominated by him]. Rashid said the government should not appoint the chief minister to head development authorities in all 36 districts. He said the chief minister already had too many portfolios and would not be able to look after 36 development authorities. He said sucj concentration of powers was a violation of Article 140A of the Constitution that empowers local government bodies.

Rana Sanaullah responded that there were only four development authorities currently and the amendments aimed to bring structural changes in those. He said nothing in the bill suggested that the authorities would be extended to 36 districts.

The Punjab Development of Cities amendment Bill 2014 was referred to the standing committee on Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering on February 7. The committee considered the bill in two meetings held on February 19 and February 26 during which several amendments to the Punjab Development Authorities (PDA) Act 1976 were proposed.

Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Secretary Waseem Mukhtar told the committee that development authorities in Multan, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Gujranwala had been constituted under the PDA Act 1976. He said some amendments to the Act were required following the replacement of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001 with The Punjab Local Government Act 2013, and because of the increase in size and population of the cities.

Mukhtar told The Express Tribune that the bill did not aim to change the jurisdiction of the authorities. He said certain areas within these cities that did not fall under the control of these authorities and therefore remained deprived of development projects.

He said the bill sought to change the composition of these authorities and extend their control over certain areas to provide them better  facilities.

The opposition proposed that the authority should be headed by a chairman who would be called the mayor of metropolitan corporation or the chairman of district council. Sanaullah said under the PLG Act 2013 only Lahore was declared a metropolitan corporation and had a mayor. He said local governments at the other cities were municipal corporations. He said the authorities were also only meant for urban areas in four divisions and did not extend to rural areas.

The opposition also proposed that the land for development projects be acquired at the prevailing market rates.

Treasury benches replied that this was already covered under the under Land Acquisition Act.

Sanaullah said the opposition’s consultant who had drafted their amendment motions was an ignoramus who had apparently not even read the bill. He asked the opposition to withdraw the rest of their notions for being impracticable.

The opposition withdrew the proposed amendments.

Pointing out the quorum, the speaker adjourned the session till Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2014.