Tale of two PA sessions: Punjab govt enforces ordinance to unveil budget

LAHORE: The Punjab government presented its budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year during an assembly session at Aiwan Iqbal here, while Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi chaired a parallel session in the assembly building.

The government conducted the budget session after the governor convened the session by curtailing the speaker’s powers through ordinances. At the Aiwan-e-Iqbal session, called by the Punjab governor and chaired by Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari, Minister Sardar Awais Ahmad Leghari presented Rs3,226 billion tax-free and subsidy-loaded budget for financial year 2022-23, with a development outlay of Rs683 billion.

The government employees got 15-30 per cent raise in their salaries, pensioners got 15 per cent raise, and the minimum wages were fixed at Rs25,000 per month. The budget size has been increased by Rs543 billion in line with expected increase in its share from the federal divisible pool. The outlay of development has been increased by Rs145 billion, compared with the last year’s. The share that the Punjab government gets from taxes, collected by the Federal Board of Revenue, is the main source that will finance the budget. The last fiscal was a rare year when the FBR collected the revenues according to the target. Let us hope that the revenue targets would be achieved this year also, as any slippage in revenue would reduce the share of provinces in the divisible pool.

No new taxes have been imposed, though tax rates on large luxury houses have been revised upwards. The stamp duty rates have been enhanced from 1 per cent to 2 per cent. Besides reducing sales tax on a few services, tax rate has not been enhanced on any service.

The government employees in Punjab were pleasantly surprised when 15pc disparity allowance in salaries of grade 1-19 employees was announced, in addition to 15pc increase proposed in line with the increase, announced for the federal government employees. The additional increase was sanctioned to bring the provincial employees at par with the earlier increases, granted to the federal government employees.

The disparity allowance would not apply to the police employees and those working in chief minister’s house and in departments where the employees were already drawing that allowance.

The development budget of Rs683 billion is the highest development exercise ever taken in the province. South Punjab’s share in the development budget is Rs240 billion, which is 40pc of total development budget.

To facilitate the youth, an amount of Rs1.5 billion has been reserved to empower them with laptops. The Punjab government has allocated Rs437.87 billion for salaries, Rs312 billion for pensions, and Rs528 billion for local governments.

The Punjab government also allocated Rs200 billion for subsidy on wheat flour. The 10-kg wheat flour bag would be sold at Rs490 per bag, against the prevailing market rate of Rs690. In addition, a sum of Rs142 billion has been earmarked for providing other edibles at subsidized rates, providing subsidy on public transport, beside providing fertilizers to farmers at concessional rates.

A sum of Rs15 billion has been earmarked to give subsidy on three months power bills of consumers using up to 200 units per month. About 40pc of the development budget is earmarked for the social sector, 24pc for infrastructure, 6pc for the production sector, 2pc for services and 28pc for various other sectors.

To improve the jail conditions, an amount of Rs6 billion has been allocated, and Rs3.06 billion would be utilised to revitalise the safe city project that was neglected during the past four years.

Allocation for education has been increased to Rs485 billion, which is 10pc higher than last year’s, and Rs56.70 billion of the amount would come from development allocations. The Punjab government also aims to provide free Wi-Fi services at recreational places, hospitals, and educational institutions.

For the health sector, the total allocation is Rs470 billion, which is 26pc higher than last year’s. Out of this, Rs174.5 billion would be spent on development works. The minister also announced plans to provide free medicines in all government hospitals from July 1, 2022. For family planning, a sum of Rs4 billion has been proposed. The allocation for health insurance has been increased from Rs60 billion to Rs125.34 billion.

Total agricultural allocation is Rs53.19 billion. For irrigation, an amount of Rs53.32 billion has been allocated. The development budget includes a sum of Rs80.77 billion for construction/ repair of roads and bridges. The amount would ensure rehabilitation of over 2000-km long roads. The Ring Road projects in Sialkot and Multan would also be initiated with an allocation of Rs13.50 billion.

A sum of Rs23.83 billion has been reserved for industries, out of which Rs12.53 billion would be spent on development projects, which include enhancing the capacity of Tainjin University and construction of Mir Chakar Khan Rind University. There are allocations for women under which scooties would be provided to lady polio and lady health workers.

The provincial government also plans to establish day-care centres for working women. Allocations have also been made to establish hostels for working women, hailing from other cities in different districts of the province. Allocations have also been announced for youth, minorities, and sports in the proposed budget.

However, before presenting the budget, the ruling PMLN cleared grounds for it as the Punjab Assembly speaker had created hindrances in unveiling of the budget in the house on Monday and Tuesday.

The Punjab governor, through an ordinance, issued by the governor, curtailed powers of the Punjab Assembly speaker. Provincial Minister Atta Tarar said the unlimited powers of the PA speaker had been curtailed and now it was not the authority of the assembly secretary to notify or de-notify the assembly session.

He said an ordinance has been passed by the Punjab governor under which convening/adjourning of the Punjab Assembly session would be notified by the provincial law secretary.

He said the law secretary presented a summary before the cabinet meeting, held Tuesday late night. As per the summary, powers of the Punjab Assembly speaker were curtailed, while the provincial assembly was given under the control of the Law Department, as per the previous practice. Tarar said that in one ordinance, three laws were repealed.

As per the gazette notification, an ordinance to repeal certain laws and to make certain other provisions was issued. “It is necessary to repeal certain laws on the basis of being discriminatory, transgressive, arbitrary, violative of the constitutional provisions and alien to the legal regime of the province of the Punjab, and to make provisions regarding issuance of notifications regarding summoning and prorogation of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab,” the notification said. It added that the Punjab Assembly was not in session and the governor was satisfied that circumstances existed, which render it necessary to take immediate action.

In exercise of the powers conferred under clause (1) of Article 128 of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Punjab governor promulgated the ordinance, cited as the Punjab Laws (Repealing and Removal of Difficulties) Ordinance 2022. As per the text of the notification, “This Ordinance shall come into force at once.

“Notifications regarding summoning and prorogation of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, - Whenever Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is summoned or prorogued, either by the Governor or the Speaker, Secretary to Government of the Punjab, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department shall issue notifications regarding summoning or prorogation of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.”

The ordinance also repealed certain laws, which were “The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Secretariat Services Act 2019 (IX of 2019), The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges (Amendment) Act 2021 (XXI of 2021) and The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges (Amendment) Act 2021 (XXVI of 2021).”

Meanwhile, the opposition’s session, summoned by Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi at the Punjab Assembly, passed a privilege motion against Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) leader Attaullah Tarar, who had been asked to leave the House two days back during the first session of the budget. PTI MPA Dr Yasmin Rashid submitted the motion in the House.

According to the text of the privilege movement, the provincial minister Ataullah Tarar made a nasty gesture in the house. In the presence of women, wrong gestures were made inside the house.

After the session, PA Speaker Ch Pervaiz Elahi said it was an undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal move on the part of the government to convene a separate budget session at Aiwan-e-Iqbal. “The deputy speaker has no right to convene a meeting in the presence of the speaker,” he said, adding that assembly was an institution and the PMLN wanted to weaken it. He said if a budget session was already under way, a separate session could not be convened.

The PA speaker said an attempt was made by the Punjab governor to curtail powers of the Punjab Assembly, but “we have abolished the governor’s ordinance through a resolution. It no longer has any status, he claimed. “We will go to every forum for the autonomy of the assembly,” he said.

The speaker also announced deseating Deputy Speaker over his “act of chairing an unconstitutional session of the Assembly”.