Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. PHOTO: INP/FILE
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s members in the subcommittee for South Punjab have decided to seek Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif’s intervention on their proposal to establish a branch of the civil secretariat, a demand that has been categorically refused by bureaucrats.
The subcommittee, headed by PML-N Senator Rafique Rajwana, in its fourth meeting at the Civil Secretariat Lahore finalised the draft on how to empower South Punjab.
Sources privy to the matter revealed that the elected representatives have called for the devolution of power stating that certain demands could only be met by establishing the mini secretariat.
However, the issue related to the posting of additional secretary and special secretary would be discussed in the upcoming meetings.
The bureaucrats are of the opinion that the existing administrative framework and laws could not support their demand for a mini secretariat hence a political decision was required to declare South Punjab a separate unit and special secretaries with full mandate should be appointed.
They argued that the creation of a mini secretariat would be expensive and that the All Pakistan Clerk Association might go on strike. They further suggested that instead of appointing special secretaries power should be delegated at the divisional and district level.
Responding to this, the elected representatives said that the expenditure on the secretariat would be a one-off thing and stressed that this was the only solution to address the grievances of the people of South Punjab.
Talking to The Express Tribune, a representative said that the bureaucrats feared that the approval for the establishment of the mini secretariat would pave the way for a separate province.
Apart from mini secretariat, secretaries of various departments were briefed on matters related to education, health, police, housing, irrigation, social welfare, communication and works, provincial tourism and law of the committee.
The subcommittee also developed consensus over the appointment of two members on the board of revenue. One permanent bench of Services Tribunal, one Additional IGP will look after affairs of three divisions Multan, Bahawalpur and DG Khan.
“We owe a lot to the people of South Punjab which we are bond to return” Rajwana said. “We feel that if we are unable to redress the grievances of SP, decentralisation of powers and delegation and enhancing them at the level of SP we will be failing our duty,” he added.
He further said that the committee has ended its meeting and but is still undecided over the mini secretariat.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2014.
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As PML N previously passed the resolution for separate province for South Punjab the PLM N government should fulfill its passed resolution for separate province for south Punjab if it fully committed with the peoples other wise people of south Punjab will reject them in coming election as they did with the peoples party government.
Shahbaz Sharif should not listen to the bureaucrats at all and should go ahead with the construction of Mini Secretariat in Multan. Since all of the top bureaucrats want to live in Lahore so they will oppose it as many of them will be forced to live in Multan after this decision. Bureaucrats are selfish people but political government should not bow down to their pressure.